The Day My Life Began
by Authora97
Summary: I am Morgan Spencer. This is the tale of how I discovered the magic of Friendship. Or how badly I screwed up the Show. Watch as I bring Darcy to MLP as Kill Joy, how I deal with a God of Chaos, what I do during the Invasion, and what caused the question some people are thinking. Why was I human in Equestria in the first place? (Part 2 of Equestrian Travels)
1. Prologue

**AN: This doesn't start as an Equestrian fic. It's set in _Monsters Inc._ first, then the next chapter is where the drama starts. Have fun!**

* * *

 _September 17th, 2007_

Today was great! It was a Saturday so my family took me out for a great day of fun. For lunch we went to Chilis (my favorite!) and I got a cute little stuffed black and white cat. I'm naming her Phoebe.

When we got home I wanted to watch a movie, Monsters Inc. We had it on VHS so my family could watch it whenever.

Dad got out our VHS, then pushed the little green box in it.

"Happy Birthday Morgan." He smiled before sitting next to me and Mom on our big soft tan couch.

As my favorite part was came up, my head started to feel funny. Like something was tugging at it. Not knowing how to make it stop, I welcomed it.

Then it got dark.

* * *

My back was kinda burning. I heard some talking. Slowly standing up, I looked around.

Metal pipes hung along the walls, some had steam coming out of them. Some pipes looked like they were supposed to hold something my size. The room was kinda hot.

Looking thru one of the pipes, I saw something very familiar. Two weird monsters were walking around, one looked like Randall and the other was Fungus.

Greatest Dream Ever!

"Come on, while we're young Fungus." Randall groaned.

The both lifted a yellow container out of some more yellow tubes. Carrying it towards the chair.

"Kid needs to take off a few pounds." Randall groaned while lifting the heavy box.

Soon they reached the chair, but when the box opened Mike fell out.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I remember from the movie that Randall wanted to know where Boo was. Mike refused and then...

Uh oh.

The red alarm started going off, and the device was lowered from the roof. I could hear Mike freaking out about it. It started moving toward him... he tried to convince them to stop...and then...

It turned off.

"What did you do wrong this time!" Randall yelled.

"I don't know! I calibrated the driv-!" Fungus yelled.

"FIX. THE MACHINE!" Randall yelled at Fungus.

I began to look around me for anything I could use against them, finding a stray pipe that nobody had come to fix yet. Picking it up, I walked over towards the bad guys. Randall walked away to go check on the power and I used the walked up behind Fungus.

Mike saw me though.

"Hey!" He yelled.

"Huh?" Fungus asked before I hit him hard with the pipe, knocking him out.

*cling*

Once I was sure he was down, I walked over to Mike.

"You okay?" I asked him.

He stared at me for a second, then looked up. I did too and was met with the face of James P. Sullivan.

He was a lot bigger than he was on my TV.

"Hey..." I greeted, he hopped down and I noticed Boo standing behind some other pipes. "We should hurry. Randal'll be back any second!" I whispered, it echoed in here like crazy.

"Who are you?" Sully asked.

"No time for questions Sully! We need to save Mike!" I told him while walking over to Boo. "Come on." I suggested while hearing the sounds of Sully freeing Mike.

Boo was still dressed in her fake-monster outfit, she walked towards me awkwardly. When she finally arrived, I took her hand and walked over to Fungus.

"We have to put him in the Scream Extractor." I told the two monsters. They both agreed and dragged him to the device. Placing him the chair.

When it turned on, we ran. Fast.

* * *

Once we left eh Pipe Room, the four of us were running inside Monster Inc, inside the business area I think. Mike was screaming about us leaving the company, the city and finding a new life. I stayed inside when they walked out the door, kinda scared. Sully stayed too and I joined him in running towards... wherever he was running to.

We were inside the Training Room before I could stop myself. I hid to protect myself behind some wooden planks. It got really scary at one point, I could hear Boo crying when Sully scared her but I didn't want to get hurt in my dream so I stayed where I was. Turns out I didn't need to run to Boo, she ran to me. As Sully got close, I moved Boo back a little. The poor toddler was crying really hard.

She escaped my grasp when I was backed up against a wall, she ran off towards the wires, tripped and revealed her human self.

As I hid, I remembered the scene that was next. They were going to be sent to Mt. Everest!

When the door was placed and opened, I ran over to warn them and was pushed thru it myself, along with them.

"WAIT!" My warning was useless as the door was already closed and the button at the top stopped glowing. "Darn it."

Sully ran to the door, he was about to open it again.

"They turned the door off. We're stuck here." The snow blew into my face, making me shiver. Maybe this wasn't a dream.

"BOO!" Sully yelled.

"It's too late. We're banished genius! We're in the Human World!" Mike yelled over the snow. "What a great plan going to your old pal Waternoose! Too bad he was in on the _whole thing!_ All ya had to do was listen to me! Just once!"

"Hey, leave him alone!" I yelled at Mike, causing him to look at me.

"And you! How did you even get inside the Factory!" Mike yelled

"I don't know! One minute I'm at home with my family the next I'm inside the Factory. Don't go blaming Sully for this, if you hadn't gone into her room to play then this probably wouldn't have happened!" It was getting really cold, I couldn't stop shivering, I tried to warm myself up but it was no use. I could almost feel a cold coming on, or that weird disease hypotha-hypo-hydro. That one you get when you get too cold!

Walking (more like stumbling) over to Sully I lightly pulled on his fur, gaining his attention.

"What're we gonna do Sully, it's really cold out and I didn't know to get my coat." I asked him.

Sully still looked sad, but he gave me a pat on the back. This accidentally sent me tumbling down the mountain.

"AH!" I screamed, trying really hard to stop.

"Kid!" Sully yelled.

I kept spinning for a second before finally stopping along a snow bank. I'd never seen so much snow in my life, and I don't want to do that ever again. When I tried to stand up again, the wind knocked me into something.

Turning around, I saw a big, furry, white monster.

Hearing some footsteps, I could only guess that Sully had finally caught up. The two gasps I heard told me that he dragged Mike with him.

"Welcome to the Himalayas!" The Abominable Snowman yelled.

I sneezed, then slowly fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up I was wrapped up in a scratchy blanket and placed in front of a tiny lantern. Looking around I saw some sleds and other weird stuff. Looking next to me I saw Mike with mittens all over him. He looked funny.

"Hehe," I laughed, slowly getting up. Gripping the blanket tighter to fight the cold.

"It woke up." Mike groaned.

"I'm a she Mike Wazowski!" I laughed again, it rhymed. "And you look funny."

Mike just rolled his big eye and moved away from me. I just stuck my tongue out at him.

"Hey kid," Turning to the voice I saw Sully and the Snowman walking over, "Are you okay?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just kinda cold." Looking back at the Snowman, I saw the lemon flavored snow cones. "Oh! Snow cones!" I reached for one before they could stop me and got to eating it.

Yeah, I'm the kind of kid that eats ice cream in winter and hot chocolate in Summer. They were both so good I couldn't wait all that time just to have them again. The ice made me insides kinda cold but it still felt nice.

"Lemon, I love it!" I cheered. Too focused on my snow cone, I didn't notice the funny looks Sully and the Snowman were giving me until I looked up at them.

"Aren't you scared of us?" Sully asked.

"Haha, why would I be scared? You're all nice. It's just Waternoose and Randal that are scary. I'm really scared of spiders, but I'm not scared of big blue furry monsters or snowmen or green monsters with a big eye." I had some more of my snow cone, still freezing cold.

Sully turned to the Snowman and I grabbed another snow cone. Using it for another purpose.

*crush*

"Hey!" Mike yelled, wiping the snow cone off his face.

"It can show emotion!" I laughed. "Come on Mike, we'll get back in time to save Boo and you'll be un-banished." He just looked at me angrily.

"Yeah? And how do you know that huh? Your another human!" Mike yelled.

" _Because_ I've seen Monsters Inc. five times already. I know that after this...we'll go down to the village...um...then we'll find a door to the Factory and umm...then we were going back to...oh wait that was later...uh Sully was, no, you would...no that's not right either. I don't remember what exactly happens after we get back but I know we do!" I told him. "And we'll all live happily ever after just like in the movie."

"What movie?" Sully asked.

"The one I was watching with my family, it's my birthday so I got to chose the movie. I wanted to watch Monsters Inc. because it's really funny and I like Boo, she was so sweet." I explained. Didn't they know?

"What is she talking about?" The Snowman asked Sully. The blue monster just shrugged. I walked over to the Snowman.

"Mr. Snowman, could we borrow one of those sleds please?" I asked, making sure to use my sad eyes.

"Ah no! It's 10 below freezing out there. Rule Number One: No going out in a blizzard! And it's a three day hike to the village at the bottom of the mountain." The Snowman yelled.

"Three Days! But Boo needs our help now!" Sully yelled.

"Boo? What about us!" Mike yelled, throwing some snow cones at Sully, starting with mine.

"Hey!" I yelled at him.

"Ever since that kid came in you've ignored everything I said and now look where we are! We were about to break the record Sully! We would've had it made!"

"None of that matters now." Sully said while working on a sled.

Mike stopping throwing snow cones. He yelled some more and dropped the one he was about to throw.

"Oh would ya look at that! We're out of snow cones! Let me just go outside and make some more." Snowman said before running out of the cave.

I carefully walked over to Mike.

"Mom said it's not nice to argue in someone else's home. Especially when they helped you." I told him.

Mike rolled his eye again. "Look kid-"

"I have a name you know!"

"-Just stay out of it." Mike ordered.

I huffed, this birthday surprise was starting to get less fun.

Letting those two argue, I wrapped the small scratchy blanket tighter around me. It was really cold out here.

Finally, I noticed Sully getting ready to go.

"Wait up!" I climbed onto the sled and soon we were going down the mountain very quickly.

It felt nice, to have the cold wind run thru my hair but not so nice to have it go into my eyes.

* * *

After a few minutes of searching in the village, Sully and I found a house and burst into the closet. Crashing into the ex-orange and yellow monster. We both started running towards the Pipe Room.

I could hear Boo smalls cries as Sully crashed thru the pipes. Standing back inside the pipes, I waited for Sully to come back so we could start running. We did, and soon met up with Randall. Well, I couldn't seem him but I saw him kicking Sully around.

I looked back in time to see Randall hit Sully with one of those big heavy containers,

"You don't know how long I wanted to do that Sullivan." Randall explained, coming out of his invisibility long enough to tell us that. Randall's laugh was really creepy.

He punched Sully a few more times, making Sully drop Boo and make him look like he was trying to dance like my Dad. It wasn't pretty. I ran up to the toddler and guided her away from the fight.

I watched the fight until Sully was hit in the face with snow.

"Mikey!" I yelled.

"Look it's that I don't care about the kids-" Mike explained while Sully was still getting attacked.

"You don't understand!" Sully said before swinging his arm around.

"Yes I _do_ I was just mad that's all. I needed some time to think. But you shouldn't have left me out there." Mike said, his back turned to us the whole time.

"I'm being attacked!" Sully yelled

"I'm not attacking you. I'm trying to be honest. Just hear me out." Boo and I walked up to Mike and tried to show him. Well, I did. Boo spoke in toddler. "I know kids, he's too sensitive." Mike said, moving his arm towards Sully.

It looked like Randall was choking Sully at this point.

"If you start to cry then I'm gonna cry and we'll never get thru this." Mike said.

"He's not crying Mike!" I told him. Mike was having none of it, he noticed Sully not _'paying attention'._

"They least you could do is pay attention!" The snowball hit Randall right in the face.

Sully was able to see Randall, grabbing the lizard and slamming a fist into his face.

"Hey! Look it's Randall! T-ohhhh." Mike finally understood. We barely had time to say more before Sully lifted the three of us up into his furry grasp. Taking us away from the Pipe Room in case Randall woke up.

I laughed while Mike explained it to Sally. Even harder when she lied about Randall over the system. Just before Sully pressed the button, I gripped onto his fur tightly, knowing he was about to go inside Door World.

Until the roller coaster started. I've never been so scared in my life.

Once we found the door, I laughed with all my might so we could open the door.

"Get in!" I yelled.

About six doors later, Boo and I were grabbed by Randall and dragged along the coaster. I screamed really loudly as I watched their door fall, right up until the moment it crashed on the ground. Not wanting to fall to the ground I remained still in Randall's grasp.

Soon Randall thru me and Boo into his into that kids room. When Sully jumped in after us and the fight with him and Randall went on, I looked Boo in the eyes and told her to be brave and handed her the bat. A look of anger crossed the small girls face, she ran over to Randall and starting bonking his head.

Randall turned a lot of funny colors. Finally stopping on sick green when SUlly grabbed his neck.

We both roared as Randall lost and was held by Sully until he was still.

"They're not scared of you anymore." Sully told Randall. The two of us gave one more big roar. "Looks like you're out of the job."

*gulp*

Soon, we were on a platform with another door ready to go. I clapped and cheered as Randall was thrown into the RV door.

After a lot of climbing, more door jumping and just a little bit more fear of being dropped, we finally got back to Boo's door but neither Boo nor I could laugh to turn it on or remember what happened next. Until the door started moving.

It was kinda hard to get Boo out of the suit and take one of her socks off without dropping her, I had to hold on really tightly to the door so I could hold Boo just as we arrived where they could see us. Mike walked out of the door's protection with Boo's suit in his hands.

I ran out with Sully while Mike distracted the CDA. It was me that accidentally hit the cans, getting the spider's attention.

I was running. Fast. Waternoose was behind me and I couldn't seem to run fast enough to avoid it. Giving one fearful look back, I quickly regretted it.

It was the giant purple spider that owned the company. Another bad guy in the movie, wearing some business suit that just made this whole thing weird. I got up and continued running inside the halls of Monsters Inc. scared out of my ten-year-old mind.

"Stop right there! Bring the girl to me!" The spider screamed.

"Help! Someone help!" I shouted as loud as I could. My heart was beating so loud I was sure that I was sure the spider could hear it and was using it to follow me.

As I turned another corner I saw them. Sully and Boo.

"Do you need some help?" Sully asked.

"I just want to go home." I said before the bright flash came.

* * *

I shot off the couch, screaming. He was still about to get me.

"Morgan calm down!" I heard my Dad's voice say. "It was just a dream!"

I looked around, it was the living room. Same couch, same TV playing Monsters Inc. it was playing the part with the CDA in the Testing Room. I still felt so scared and I just wanted to run.

That was by far, the most realistic dream I have ever had.

Months when by, the incident on my birthday remained with me. When I got back to school later on, I told my class about it. They laughed at me. Not with me, **at** me.

Three years later, I went to a new smaller school. My parents ran it, some kids came and they were alright. But I made sure to keep what I could do a secret. I ended up lying about a lot, like my grades. I was really good at math in some places, good enough to get my homework done and get a B. Without the jumping I probably would've gotten an A but I dialed it down.

Those dreams didn't stop though. I was still going to strange places I saw in TV or read about in books, when I turned eleven I realized that it was a gift I had been given. My Talent was going into these places and making them how I felt they should. Happier endings. Sure, the sequels were a little different but in the end it still all worked out for the better.

I saved many, killed almost as much. Time was a funny thing, sometimes I would spend a whole year someplace and find only an hour has passed.

So when my body turned 15, my soul was closer to 153 years old.

It was an empty existence, my experience after the Birthday made me keep it a secret. No journals, diaries, special notes or videos. I kept it silent to even my parents.

I am Morgan Spencer... and _this_ is my story.

It all started, with one special jump that changed my life a mere five years after the first one...


	2. Becoming Raspberry

While sitting inside the small classroom, I had one big thought. Chemistry class sucked! Even though the stuff inside was dangerous I found very little use of knowing what home chemicals can mix and explode. I learned that crap two years ago when I was thirteen and even then I didn't use it for anything! With some of these clowns that knowledge it would only led to a busy night for Firefighters.

Forced by sheer boredom I began doodling. Something that even over my many years of Jumping I never improved (except when I went into _Jane by Design_ but it still sucked). I had no friends to sneak notes to, or email, or text or however they do it. Plus, I don't need friends for what I do. I just need partners in crime, that's what I call the people I meet on Jumps, all of which are very nice. Plus, I know when their word can be trusted simply by watching the show!

Now what I was doodling could be a baby dragon with cute big eyes but it still needed something else. So, I arranged her scales in the way of _Babs Seed_ , I colored it with the dark blue marker I had stored inside my pink sparkly pen case. This little cutie would be adorable.

You know, once it was done and a more professional artist got to it.

It didn't take long anyhow. Soon I had created a baby dragon with dark blue hair, dark purple scales and the shining dark blue eyes and delicate lashes made for a girl, the rest of her was in the color I'm pretty sure was lilac.

*RING*

Moving as fast as my legs would take me I rushed out of class, the doodle in hand. I always made sure to be packed at least a minute before the bell rang so I could get to my locker before the Bellingham girl showed up. She always tried to engage me in some boring conversation about some crap.

Frankly I don't have time for friends in this universe.

 _You heard me right. I said this universe._

One of my, I guess you would call it a hobby, hobbies was 'jumping' into other dimensions deep within my own in which the portals are books, TV and, on a rare occasion, some idiots terribly written Creative Story. I still think he deserved a D, a clock that's only right twice a day until daylight savings? Worst fake year of my life.

I praised whatever holy being watched over me. Bellingham wasn't at her locker so I had like maybe 20 seconds before she showed up. Free Period had just started so I guess could jump to a place for a while, maybe Castle or some Psych. I'm sure one of those idiots needs my help again.

"Morgan!" Damn it. I slammed my locker and quickly ran toward the library before Bellingham caught up with me.

"Thank God." I said as I hid behind one of the displays inside the library. Looking at the dragon I drew I thought of that weird show I saw awhile back.

My Little Pony had become a favorite for me in the week I've been watching it. While I jump I manage to get some cash so whatever I gathered I used to buy; TV shows, music and new clothes from these shows. Half of it was Brony stuff as of late.

But strangely while I was halfway thru Season One, the screen on my iPhone went blank. The battery was fully charged, I had a good internet connection so I know it wasn't any of those.

"What the fudge?" I only swore when someone that couldn't tell my parents was nearby. In the same way a child steals from the cookie jar when the parents are gone.

Then I felt something pulling at my chest. The feeling I was got before I was 'pulled' into a show instead of jumping into it. Which always led to my save shoved in dirt or covered in blood. That reminds me, I should totally go see Darce this weekend. I need to update my fighting anyway.

As I watched the screen fade away, my world became black

* * *

"My head." I groaned. My world was still black from my eyes being closed. I was kinda scared to open them. Using my other less fearful senses I heard birds tweeting and smelt green grass. "What happened to me?"

I fearfully opened my eyes.

Smurfity smurf smurf smurf

I was a freakin' pony.

I was a freakin' pony!

I WAS A FREAKIN' PONY!

Okay. Don't panic Morgue. You've woken up as weirder. Like the one time you woke up a fish, or a deer, or a girl . It can't be that bad...

Wait... me. A pony? What show had technicolor ponies.

I'M IN EQUESTRIA!

Normally, a pegasister would be freaking out about _being_ in Equestria thanks to the cosmos. But I knew otherwise.

Time to see which of the three I am.

Carefully standing up from my fearful form on the ground, I lifted a hoof to my head.

Hit something. Unicorn, at least I can use magic.

Turning around to check my cutiemark, I wanted to kill whomever decided to give it to me. To burn whatever celestial being designed the cutiemarks and all it lackeys that work for it.

It was a brown cover book with old pages, open wide for all to see. But what made me angry was that a blue and white jump rope wrapped around the freakin' thing!

If that isn't a cause to kill some _pony_ then I don't know what is.

My fur looked raspberry in color, kinda weird. Moving my tail towards my line of sight...

My hair is blue. Dad is going to kill me.

The blue of my mane (yep two colors, fate has signed my death warrant) was royal blue with silver streaks in it. Otherwise it looked the same as my hair on Earth.

Then the pain it.

It was worst than when I died in that Saw movie. Each bone felt like it was broken, fixed, then broken again. My muscles felt like they were torn off and chewed like bubblegum for a teething child then put back onto my body with glue from hell.

So much pain.

I shoved my hooves in my mouth to keep the screaming quiet, it did an okay job. After a minute or so the pain seemed to vanish.

First thing, find a spell that nulls the pain.

Second thing, find out where in Series I am.

Third thing, Get Back Home.

Beginning the trot towards the pony town, I tried to get a good enough mind set. Everypony. Anypony. Nopony. It should be fairly simple. Everypony. Anypony. Nopony.

I was so focused on the mantra I bumped into a familiar cream colored pegasus.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" A voice said as I checked my coat for bruises.

Believe it or not, bruises are the only things that stay on my body when I jump back home. I can only take something back if I'm holding it and I'm pretty sure I can't hold a broken arm.

That reminds me, I need to check up on the guys in the Matrix. Wonder how Neo's doing right about now.

"Miss are you alright?" Crap, I remembered a fourth thing.

Make a Pony name.

"Huh? Oh, me. Um...yeah. I'm alright. No broken bones." I assured the pegasus.

"Oh thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if I had hurt you." Fluttershy cried. I patted a dark pink hoof on her back.

How did she bump into me yet I'm the one consoling her?

"It's alright. I'm fine Miss. Didn't catch your name..." I lied.

"Fluttershy, my name is Fluttershy. Are you sure you're not hurt?" She asked me. Caretaker instincts.

"Yes Fluttershy. I can't feel any broken bones, you barely hit me hard enough to cause any." I assured again.

"Oh, okay. Could you...um...tell me... your name?"

Think think. Think you idiot!

I'm screwed.

"Raspberry..." Coat color, creative. I guess I could go with something I'm good at next. "Stardust." Wtf?

"Raspberry Stardust, that's a strange name... oh but no offense!" She corrected.

"Uh no problem, say could you tell me what big event is coming up?" Anything but the Summer Sun Celebration I beg of you!

"Okay, the Summer Sun Celebration is in two days." I outwardly groaned. I was in the first episode? That's another 52 I have to go thru and then all the episodes that are premiering in three days! "Is that wrong? Are you sure you didn't get hurt from when I bumped into you?"

Curse you gift. Placing me in the beginning of all of this nonsense. If you give me an element I swear to God I will kill you. Even though I have little to no desire to kill anything, I will bring my sister into the mix and have _her_ kill you, you understand?!

Oh, wait. Fluttershy asked me a question.

"No. Everything is fine, just making sure I have the right date. I wouldn't want any more confusion." I laughed. "Anyway, have a nice day."

Quickly turning back, I started running only to have Fluttershy stop me.

"Maybe I should take you home...just to be sure you're alright." She said.

Woah, she can fly. Now I wish I had wings.

"Fine." I submitted. Watching the series has taught me that if Fluttershy wanted to help somepony it was going to get done.

Thankfully, one of the things I have installed in my memory is my home address so I guided Fluttershy towards it.

For anyone reading my life story which I shall write when I am most likely in old age or my death bed, allow me to clarify. When I arrive in a new Jump, I automatically know three things; basics of backstory, special abilities and address.

It looked a little like my house at home. More colors though. Trotting inside, I showed Fluttershy that I was fine.

"There, see? I'm fine. You can go back to your home now." I said.

"Okay-" Fluttershy started.

"Mommy!" A voice yelled from somewhere else in the house.

"You have a little filly?" Fluttershy asked. I turned back to her, very confused.

"Ugh..." Hearing little pounding sounds, I turned to at least see what the little filly looked like.

When she arrived at the final steps.

...

...

...

...

...

It was the drawing.

The drawing was alive.

...

...

I. Am. So. Dead!


	3. Getting My Affairs in Order

**AN: Friendly reminder. This story is a prequel. The other story is called The Day My Life Ended. Back to our regularly scheduled story.**

* * *

Staring at the small dragon before me, I began to question how or even why the Story would do that to me. If anything I'd think it want to screw me over.

I calmly turned to Fluttershy with the kindest and least surprised face I could muster.

"Thanks for the help Ms. Fluttershy, I would kindly appreciate it if I could speak with her alone."

Fluttershy squeaked an okay and walked out of the house. I waited until the yellow pegasus was a speck in the distance before moving or letting the dragon speak.

Turning to the little dragon, I tried to think of what her name would be so I could scream properly.

Fuck it.

"AH!" Running over to the living room I kept screaming.

"Mommy are you okay? You're acting kinda strange."

"No I'm not! Just give me a second okay!" I yelled back.

The lilac colored dragon chased me around the living room while I kept screaming. This was too weird.

"Are you sure you're alright Mommy? That nice pegasus brought you home, did you get a boo-boo?"

Oh God, that sounded adorable. Just like Boo.

I kept trying to avoid the dragon, just as I got some ideas for a name. It was either Lavender or Indigo. Decisions, decisions.

"No! Just like I told Fluttershy, I'm fine!" I yelled.

Finally, I was stopped by taking a quick glance at the dragon. We locked eyes.

' _Dear Story, the sadness coming of those eyes. Such confusion and fear. I can feel it tainting my soul, how is this happening? Why am I feeling this way? It could be guilt, but this feels stronger. More scarring._ ' Then, it clicked. Just like with Twilight and Spike, Raspberry must've hatched the dragon egg. This means I have...

' _Motherly guilt. The fire that burns most deep.'_

Slowly moving towards the dragon, a thought flashed my mind as quick as whenever I got all those names during Jumps.

"Lilac," The dragon continued to look at me. "I'm sorry, I'm just... _excited_ to hear about Summer Sun Celebration coming up." It was then, I finally noticed a bunch of boxes scattered around the floor. Some empty, some half-full and some just overflowing.

Okay, we recently moved here. Into Ponyville. Oh what fun.

Placing one hoof on the small dragon that had been calling me mommy, I gave her the most sincere look I could muster. "How about we finish un-packing? We're going to have an exciting week and I would like to have the place all clean before then. Now, can you give your mother a nice, big smile?"

Lilac nodded, the guilt vanished from me and an adorable smile was placed on the dragon's face.

"Joy." I said emotionlessly. "Let's get to unpacking. We're gonna have a rough couple days."

Then, I engaged in the second most hated activity. Unpacking boxes.

* * *

The next three hours were spent unpacking. It was a lot of work, but I managed to figure out how my horn worked. We had three rooms set up. One was mine, the smallest one was Lilac's and the third medium room was a guest room. The other rooms had some furniture looking a couple years old.

Surprisingly, ponies had indoor plumbing.

When I collapsed upside down onto the tan couch. Lilac did the same but with our love seat. I don't even know how this furniture fit in such small boxes, but I'll assume it was the Magic of Cartoons again.

During the unpacking, I found some pictures. One was of a large group of ponies, and me. They kinda looked like my family, except the last one. She looked like Darcy but a pegasus. How exciting.

I placed a couple pictures of them around the living room. It felt nice to have pictures of ponies like them here. I almost never spent time with them, not like I wanted to. They just didn't understand.

"So," I said, I heard Lilac move around on the couch, "I have a few weird questions I want you to answer."

"What kinda questions Mommy?" That's gonna take some getting used to.

"Just, plain questions." I shuffled to right side up. "Can you tell me about my family?"

The blue and purple dragon titled her head, opening her mouth to ask a question.

"Just please answer the question Lilac." I ordered.

Her midnight blue eyes widened a little, she moved about on the couch until she was sitting up. She twiddled with her little thumbs. "Well, Grandma Star Charmer, Grandpa Lighting Chaser, Uncle Sunny Flash and Uncle Steel Masquerade aren't around any more. Aunt Killjoy-" I held up a hoof.

"Aunt _Killjoy_?" I said.

"Uh-huh."

Staring wide-eyed at the dragon, I processed that name.

"Killjoy? My sister's name is Killjoy?" Lilac nodded. I tossed around in laughter on my couch.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" The dragon asked.

"Bwahaha! Oh! Oh man! Oh man that is good. That is _good_. Tell me more. Tell me more!" I said, still laughing.

Lilac stared at me funny for a second before carrying on. "Aunt Killjoy-" I chuckled. "Is traveling the world. After Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Sunny and Uncle Mask passed away…"

"Passed away?"

"They died when I was still a baby. Why am I explaining this to you Mommy?" Lilac asked.

"I'm making sure I haven't lost my mind." I lied. "How did they die?"

"Somepony broke into the house. Aunt Killjoy, you and me were camping that night. We got back and you got so sad, Aunt Killjoy got all angry and didn't come back for a few days."

I'm gonna take a guess and say she didn't go find the stallion that killed our family to play chess.

"But a few months ago you wanted to move out of Grandpa and Grandma's house. So we moved to Ponyville. Did I do good Mommy?"

"Perfect. I'll get you a treat later. Let's get some sleep so we can be rested for the Summer Sun Celebration." I told the dragon who happened to yawn a second later.

Lilac hoped off the couch, walking towards the stairs just as the sunset in the distance.

This was gonna be a fun Jump.


	4. Friendship is MagicOr So I Hear

The next morning I awoke to find Celestia's sun high in the sky. High enough to get right in my eyes. Damn it!

Crawling up out of bed, I stumbled towards the stairs towards the kitchen. I remembered I had just moved here, so no food for me. Joy.

As I closed one of the drawers were I had planned in putting food, a small dragon hopped down the stairs.

"Hi Mommy! Is there anything to eat today?" Lilac asked.

"Sorry Lilac, but we have no food. I'll see if there's something in town. You stay here okay?"

The little dragon girl nodded. I walked up to the door and wrapped it in my amber magic. One of the only things I kept in this Jump was my amber eyes, it made me feel just a little normal.

Trying to find a way towards Sugarcube Corner, I noticed something up in the sky. Twilight and Spike's carriage. Great, just what I needed.

Trotting towards the slowly dropping carriage I saw Pinkie Pie humming gently during the walk. I made it so I ' _accidentally_ ' bump into her.

"Oh, sorry." I said before trotting towards the gingerbread like bakery. Behind me, I heard a loud gasp.

Just Pinkie being Pinkie.

Opening the double door of the bakery, I walked in and saw a smallish crowd inside. I walked towards the three pony line and waited for my turn. When I reached the front I ordered a chocolate muffin for myself and a banana nut one for Lilac. I didn't know what the dragon wanted, but I know I wasn't getting a second chocolate. I might eat it.

"That'll be five bits." Mrs. Cake cheered.

Reaching around to my side, I realized I left everything back at the house.

"Ah dang it, sorry Ma'am I forgot my saddlebags in my haste this morning. I had just moved and it's all still confusing." I said.

"Oh! Why didn't you just say so! Consider the muffins a welcome to Ponyville gift!" Mrs. Cake smiled.

"Oh I couldn't." I lied.

"I insist." The earth mare said, pushing the bag of two muffins towards me.

"Well, if you insist." Wrapping the bag in my amber magic, I trotted out the doors and back to the house.

* * *

It wasn't until the afternoon that anything happened to me. Lilac was busy enjoying her new room while I was studying. Most people when asked, will say I never study. This is true. I don't study _school related_ crap. I study more important things, like who killed who on TV this week or what kind of life I had before I jumped to a place.

It's all confusing, an old friend has a saying that's almost works for this. Wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey. That's close to what I have to deal with.

When I Jump somewhere, the Story (the grand being that I had created so I can yell at something) has twisted the story just enough so that my presence makes sense. Like I recently transferred from some other town, or I was in an accident, or I took the blue pill. Nothing confusing there right?

That's what the first twenty-four hours consisted of, researching myself. Quite entertaining if I must say. Like this one time, I had to go to the Town Records and when I told the guy working there that I was researching myself and he asked why, I couldn't help myself. I told him ' _Because I don't know myself, so I have to ask the Legal System. Plus, who knows me more than the government what with their surveillance and governmental tracking.'_

The guy's face was priceless. He looked at me like my nose just grew three feet.

Anyway, back to pony life!

I had a family of six here. Four, parents and brothers, died in a house invasion about four years back. Sad. The sister (who now I have to drag by her straight hair) went abroad after that incident. Their names were in chronological order; Lightning Chaser, Star Charmer, Raspberry _(I hate that name already)_ _Pegasus, Killjoy_ _(oh, that's gonna be fun)_ , Rain Flash, and Steel Masquerade.

Lilac Melody Stardust, the dragon. She was just about five years old. This one took a little more searching until I found a photo album beneath a bunch of blankets. In it was a picture of a purple egg with little midnight blue swirls. I was lying next to it, the little nest made of some pillows and blankets keeping it warm. The next photo was of me feeding an amethyst to the dragon in a highchair. Adorable.

I was now looking thru some legal documents in, you guessed it, legalese when I heard somepony knocking on my door. The sun was gonna set soon, so maybe it was Pinkie inviting me to a party.

When I opened the door, I squealed and slammed it shut.

Twilight Sparkle was outside my door. Spike was on her back.

I took a quick breath, making the pegasister in me shut the fuck up. Putting on my best smile, I opened the door to see the stunned unicorn.

"Hello! Sorry about that, wasn't expecting anypony" Got it right, "here today. How might I be of service?" I asked.

Twilight stared at me for a moment, as though assessing me. She looked the same as she did on TV, same book-ish mane cut with lavender and hot pink stripes, same lavender coat and amethyst eyes. Spike did too, he was mostly purple with green on his belly, ears, reptile eyes and head spikes.

The student snapped back to reality, giving me a half confused half angry look. Somepony wants to save the world from Nightmare Moon.

"I was told by Fluttershy that you had a dragon." Twilight stated simply.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But does one truly own something or is it just under their watch? It could be that I myself am a dra-"

"Look, I've had a long day and I need to get home so I can do research. Do you, or do you not own a dragon?" Twilight asked.

"You know, most ponies ask for a name, or share their own, or share how they themselves have a dragon and are criticizing me for it." I said, motioning towards Spike.

The dragon hopped off Twilight's back and held out a claw, I took and gave it a light shake.

"My name is Spike, this is Twilight Sparkle." He leaned in close to me, "She's just mad because Princess Celestia told her to make some friends."

"Spike!" Twilight yelled.

Chuckling, I let go of Spike's claw as he shrugged. "Well, my name is Raspberry Stardust. Call me what you want, you don't have to consider me a friend. You clearly have enough pony skills to make them on your own." I lightly joked. "I just have a few questions for you Ms. Sparkle." I quickly hide behind the door and cast a quick illusion spell. To Twilight and Spike it would look as if I was wearing a business suit and half-moon glasses.

"How did-" Spike started.

"What do you plan on doing to this dragon I supposedly have when her presence known?" I asked her.

"Can you just answer my question?" Twilight groaned.

"I ask you the same." I said in a near emotionless voice. "Just answer the question ma'am." That one sounded like a cop.

"Ugh... I would tell Princess Celestia." Twilight said.

"Good. What would she do?"

"Come to Ponyville to see for herself." Twilight answered, lifting her hoof and rubbing at her skull. Wow, two minutes and already hitting Migraine Levels. I'm getting better.

"After that?"

"I don't know! Will you just tell me so I can go back to work!" Twilight yelled.

"Twi, calm down. She's just asking some questions." Spike said, his tone slightly worried.

"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely," I trotted over to the stairs in the back of the house. "Lilac!"

It took a moment, but I got a response. "Yes Mommy!"

"Can you come down here please, we have company." I yelled back up.

"Coming!" The little dragon yelled.

Reinforcing the smile I walked back to the door. "She's coming."

The three of us heard her running down a hall and towards the stairs, even the claw against wood as she came down the stairs.

"I'm here Mommy! Who's at the door?" Lilac asked me.

"A Twilight Sparkle and Spike. They wanted to see if I had a dragon, would you please show them my dragon?" I asked.

"Got it!" Lilac cheered, walking up next to me in full view of the pony and dragon before us.

"Twilight and Spike, meet Lilac the dragon. Lilac, meet Twilight and Spike. Does this answer thou questioning dearest Sparkle of Twilight?" Lilac giggled next to me.

The unicorn standing at my door was staring at Lilac. The dragon stretched a claw towards Lilac.

"Hi! I haven't meet another dragon before. My name is Spike, what's yours?" He asked her.

Lilac stared at Spike, barely lifting up her claw with a dreamy look on her face. The kid was five and already having a crush. This was gonna be fun.

"Lilac." I spoke.

"huh? Oh. Lilac Stardust. You can just call me Lilac if you want. You don't have to. You can call me whatever you want." Lilac said quickly.

Giving a small laugh, I picked Lilac up in my magic and walked out the door.

"What are you doing Mommy?" Lilac asked me.

Twilight and Spike walked up behind me, trying to discover my behavior.

"I thought we could go see where Twilight Sparkle and Spike lived, they look like they just moved in." I told her.

"How did you know that?" Spike asked me, looking a little shocked.

"Because you told me Twilight didn't have any friends, that it was so bad the Princess herself told Twilight to go to a town and make friends. So, it must be assumed that you recently moved as for Twilight to make friends.

"I must also assume that because the Princess told this to Twilight, she knew Twilight well enough to know she didn't have friends, besides you. So, I'm thinking that since the Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow that you were sent here not only to make friends, but to help plan." Turning my head towards the purple unicorn, I went on.

"Since you seem to be in such a big hurry, I assume you had plans for today that the Princess changed due to your need of friends. It must be something important, not some 500 word paper. Your not that nerdy. No, this is something more. Something so important that it overpasses your job assigned by the Princess. Hmm? Could it have anything to do with the 1000 year of Celestia's single ruling coming? Or is it about a certain mare in the moon?" Walking into town, I noticed the confused and shocked looks on the newcomers faces.

"I think you broke Ms. Twilight and Spike Mommy." Lilac giggled.

"Yeah. I think I saw an old building earlier today they might have moved into, wanna check it out?" I asked her.

"Sure!" Lilac cheered.

So, the four of us began our walk towards the large tree in the middle of town.

* * *

When we arrived at the Golden Oaks Library, the sky was orange but it was still hot out. Twilight and Spike were having their own mini conversation while I tried figuring out how to get back to home when all was said and done. Lilac was doing something similar, looking around the town and asking me what stuff we would do first. Plus every once in awhile she would look back at Spike.

Once we arrived at Twilight's new house, the purple unicorn rushed to get in front of me to block me from entering her humble abode.

"Well! Thanks for coming Ms. Raspberry. I'll be sure to get back to you once I receive word from Princess Celestia on Lilac. Have a pleasant evening, now go." Twilight ordered.

"Hmmm, I never was one for following orders." I said, my horn glowing and wrapping around Twilight's door.

I picked up magic pretty quickly. Sure, I had used it before in various fiction books involving witches, fairies, werewolves and good vampires(ones that sparkle deserve to meet the ones that don't) and the concept was basically the same. Focus on something, imagine yourself grabbing it and your magic does the rest.

The door was pushed open, and I almost skipped inside with Lilac still sitting on my back.

"It's really dark in here." Lilac said, her claws digging into my fur a little.

"Umm, Twilight? Is it supposed to be-" Spike started.

"SURPRISE!"

The lights quickly turned on, a bunch of ponies hopped out from various hiding places with smiles threatening to break their faces and one mare to lead them all.

Pinkie Pie.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for all of you! Were any of you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?" Pinkie asked.

I was laughing, Lilac was too. "Very much so, gracias Pinkie." Walking around the library I felt Lilac jump off my back, she probably wanted to go meet ponies.

"You know, libraries are supposed to be _quiet._ " Twilight growled.

Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all 'hello' and I was all *GASP*, remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean _everypony_ in Ponyville! " I felt Pinkie wrap a hoof around my neck, "And then I saw you and knew I hadn't seen you before either! Two new ponies at the same time! That means twice the party!" Pinkie cheered.

"Good thing this wasn't at my house, Lilac and I still have unpacked boxes lying about." I laughed, grabbing a cupcake and taking a bite. I heard Twilight groan.

Normally, I wasn't one for parties, but I wouldn't consider myself a pegasister unless I let Pinkie throw me a party or at the very least threw one in her honor. Plus, I was really needing a break from that research earlier.

"And if you're both new, that meant neither of you haven't met anypony yet, and if you haven't met anypony yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went *GASP*! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everypony in Ponyville! See? And now you both have lots and lots of friends!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Wow, thanks Pinkie Pie. That's really nice of you." I told Pinkie while taking another bite of my cupcake.

I noticed the rest of the Mane 6 had crowded around us, looking at Twilight as her face turned red as a tomato.

"Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked Twilight as she jumped into the air and parts of her burst into flames. Shaking my head as the mare dashed up into the house area of the library, I looked at Spike as he picked up a red bottle.

" _Hot sauce_ Oh..." Spike said.

Pinkie grabbed a cupcake as well as the bottle, pouring a large amount onto a cupcake before gulping it down.

"What? It's good!" Pinkie said, it was a little muffled thanks to the cupcake. I laughed as the others made various gestures to show how humorous or strange the last minute had been.

"Sorry for asking, but I don't know any of your names. I know Fluttershy, and now Pinkie," The pink mare waved at me, "but not the rest of you." I lied.

Rainbow Dash flew up to me, landing about six inches from me. "Names Rainbow Dash. Fastest Pony in Equestria." The prismatic mare beamed.

"Mah name's Applejack." The orange earth pony told me as she walked up next to me, she moved her hoof towards me and I lightly shook it. "Ah run Sweet Apples Acres with mah family, Big MacIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith."

"Remind me to stop by sometime." I laughed. A white unicorn with a dazzlingly curled mane and rich blue eyes came next, tossing her mane out of her face.

"My name is Rarity, it's delightful to meet you darling." The designer greeted. "I make dresses at my boutique. _The Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic and unique_ ."

"Can't compete with introductions like that." Shrugging my shoulders, I looked over at all the ponies whose show I had been Pushed into. "My name is Raspberry Stardust, the purple and blue dragon over there is my daughter Lilac. We moved here yesterday and are still unpacking. I don't really have a set job, it's mostly just whatever I can find."

"Oh, yes, well what about your cutiemark? It looks kinda weird." Rainbow said, flying above me.

Grimacing at the memory of that stupid book and jump-rope, I looked back at it's colors that matched my mane and tail. "Oh _that_ , I'd rather not talk about that stupid thing." I grumbled. "It's a touchy subject." I quickly covered when I noticed their shocked faces.

"It-It's okay, Raspberry, you don't have to tell us." Fluttershy said.

"Thanks, now," I looked around the library, "Can anypony tell me where Section E is?"


	5. How To Wreck A Summer Sun Celebration

The party had ended half an hour ago. I was hiding inside the library reading The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. It was an interesting read. A lot of pretty pictures. Who'd da thought huh?

Well, when I noticed the sun had yet to rise, I knew first that I achieved my goal of staying up til sunrise, and that any moment Twilight would bust back in.

So of course, I had to head back and put Lilac in bed. I took the book with me of course. I needed to figure out how it ends!

Yes, I left a note detailing my borrowing of said book. I'm not _usually_ a thief.

By the time I arrived back home, the moon was high in the sky and Lilac was lightly snoring on my back. She better not be drooling on me.

It also gave me time to think about why I was Sent here. The Pushing only happened three times before. On my tenth birthday, _Child's Play_ and now. Those first two events lead to a big life changer, the Birthday was the start of my Jumping and _Child's Play_ led me to my sister. What was MLP supposed to give me? The dragon?!

Jumping was actually very complicated when I got down to it. When I started, I was just a little kid and figuring out that I could actually do it. Two Real Life Years went by before I realized it was a curse. Before that, I actually lived almost 90 Fiction Years. It was pain to figure out, I've always had problems with Calendar Math. The first time I had clarity on any of it and stopped goofing around was a little over forty years ago, when I was one hundred and fifty-one.

Yeah, the last forty years have been amazing! Some people wouldn't believe the places I've been, the places I've seen, the people I became and the people I got to know. All in the course of five Human Years. Really, it had been one hundred ninety-three. It was _marvelous_.

Just after I put Lilac in her bed, I trotted towards the kitchen to finish reading. The only good bit I had found was that there wasn't a seventh element. The last thing I needed was to be invited to those events. It was much more exciting to crash the party.

* **KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

Twilight's here.

Skipping to the door, I gently opened it and saw a group of six ponies outside.

"Twilight, it's six in the morning. What are you doing here?" I asked, half confused and half happy.

The purple unicorn glared at me. "Where's. the. Book."

"Which book?" I lied.

"The book on the Elements of Harmony."

"You mean that they are Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity and a mysterious sixth Element that will only appear when the other five are present along with a spark? That they reside dormant in the Everfree Forest in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters? That Nightmare Moon is probably heading there right now to destroy them so they can't banish her into the moon? That book?" I said.

"The Everfree forest?!" All the ponies screamed.

"Yes. Everfree. That's what the book said. Did I stutter? I tend to do that from time to time. It's embarrassing."

Twilight, the studious mare she was, nodded and ran off with her new friends not too far behind.

"Twilight wait! There's something else!" I yelled "Something that could mean everything!" The mare stopped and even though she was far away, she came back.

"What?" She groaned.

I gripped by pink hooves onto her shoulders, looking her right in the eyes. "Remember the Spark. The Five will bring the six. The Spark is the key. The Spark of Dusk is the key." I said ominously. "Also, don't get killed."

It seemed like a good warning. My sister gave it to me all the time. Or did I give it to her and then she flipped me off?

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Just another crazy pony in this crazy town." With that, she rejoined her friends

Then, I took a nap because it was six in the fucking morning and I was freakin' tired.

* * *

 _Twilight Sparkle_

 _Just After Twilight teleported into the Tower_

"*cough* *cough* *gasp!"

Nightmare Moon. There she was, just on the other side of the room. The Elements of Harmony floating along with her starry mane. Her black as night coat stood out even in this darkness. Her purple helmet fit over her skull and muzzle, framing her long horn as it poked out from the top. Over her chest was she more armor, a light blue moon was placed on the front, mirroring her cutiemark. Her wings were flared out high and prideful. Her hooves were protected by pale purple horseshoes, going up past her knee.

I had been running here to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in search of the five elements the black alicorn held up with her mane. Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty and the mystery sixth element. Oh, if only I had been able to read that book!

The night had not been easy. Those five crazy mares had followed me here, first off. Next, I nearly fell off a cliff! Then there was that manticore attack, those trees, the river serpent and the incident with the bridge just outside the castle. To top it all off, it was eternal night outside.

Nightmare Moon chuckled, showing off her victory. Lightning went off around her as she laughed, surprising me.

I wasn't about to let everypony down. Not when I was this close to ending this. To bringing back the Princess and the sun.

Giving the dark alicorn a determined glare, I dug my hoof across the stony ground.

Nightmare Moon gave me a questioning look as the elements were placed down by her hooves. "You're kidding? You're kidding, right?" She asked.

To show her I was serious, I dug my hoof again and prepped a teleport spell.

I began running towards Nightmare Moon, hoping she would join in my charge.

She did.

We both ran closer to each other. Closer, closer, just a little closer.

*pop*

In a blink of my eyes, I stood where the Elements of Harmony had been placed. Still a little dizzy from the teleport, I focused on a spell to hopefully make that spark Raspberry had told me off.

For a brief second (and not for the first time) I wondered why I should trust that crazy unicorn. For all I know, she could've been lying. Of course, I stood exactly where she said the Elements would be. She never told me how she found Lilac! Or how she knew all those things about me!

"Ugh! Just one spark. Come on, _come on_."

The spell had have been working. I made sure to stay focused on the task at hoof. Getting that spark the Elements needed.

I heard a small sound, I think they must be working!

*zap*

"Ah!"

The electricity shot my back a couple yards, at least five, away from the Elements. Did the spell backfire? Looking up at them I saw Nightmare Moon standing around them.

Sparks started dancing about the five orbs by the night mare's hooves, the glow of my magic still around them as the spell did it's work.

"No. No!" Nightmare Moon shouted.

It was working. The spell was going to work. The sixth element should appear any second and-

It stopped.

Raspberry Stardust...I knew she lied to me!

"*gasp* but...where's the sixth Element?!" I yelled, still in anger as to believing some crazy pony I had just met.

"Ha!" She laughed, lifting her black hooves up and slamming them on the ground.

Smashing the Elements into broken shards.

"You little foal! Thinking you could defeat _me_? Now you will never see you princess, or your sun! The _night_ will last _forever_! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Nightmare Moon laughed as her mane grew and began swirling around above her.

It didn't work...the spark didn't work. Why did I have to listen to Raspberry Stardust? Why didn't I just read the book?

Wait...that last thing Raspberry told me...

" _Remember the Spark. The Five will bring the six. The Spark is the key. The Spark of Dusk is the key."_

" _Does this answer thou questioning dearest Sparkle of Twilight?"_

Raspberry Stardust. Was this what she was trying to tell me? Of course! The Five will bring the six! Spark of Dusk could also mean Spark of Twilight...Twilight Sparkle. I have to give Raspberry some credit, that was quite clever.

But what does that have to do with the Elements of Harmony?

"Don't worry Twilight, we're here!"

"Don't worry, we'll be there."

"*gasp*" Why didn't I see it before?

I turned to Nightmare Moon, determined. "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right _here_!"

The mares stood around me, ready to face down the Nightmare.

"What?" Nightmare asked.

I gestured a hoof towards the farm mare. " _Applejack_ , who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... _honesty_!

" _Fluttershy_ , who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... _kindness_!

" _Pinkie Pie_ , who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... _laughter_!

" _Rarity_ , who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... _generosity_!

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... _loyalty_!

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." I told Nightmare Moon.

"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" She pointed out.

"But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside _me_ when I realized that you all...are _my friends_!"

Above our heads, a bright light went off. A final orb was revealed and I saw it had a star the same shape as my cutiemark. The spark finally worked.

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the...the _spark_ , that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... _magic_!"

Above our heads, a large burst of light came. It looked like the spheres from before but with a six pointed star like on my cutiemark. It started glowing brightly before hovering down towards the six of us.

I felt my hooves slowly being lifted up, a series of six pops filled my ears. A surge of magic went thru me and I cast it towards Nightmare Moon.

" _Nooo_! Nooo!"

* * *

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

When I woke up, there was some fucking idiot knocking on my door. Don't the ponies ever sleep?! It has to be like, eight in the morning!

Stumbling out of my pony bed, I trotted towards the door. "I'm Coming! Leave your horseshoes on." The pony had ceased knocking, so I opened with the door with some grace. That went out the window when the light hit my eyes.

Outside, was Princess Celestia, Twilight and Spike.

Celestia stood really tall, her pure white coat with golden jewelry with purple jewels shining in the bright daylight. Her mane was flowing with four colors, blue, green, purple and pink. Her eyes were magenta pink with a tinge of purple. Her flank her the usual sun and then her four colored tail. It was weird...but I could feel something weird coming off her. What it was, I couldn't tell.

"Too early." I groaned, rubbing my eyes with my hoof.

Twilight smiled, a first for today, and held out her hoof. "Raspberry Stardust, thank you."

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked. "I must be exhausted, because I could've just sworn you said thank you to me."

"I did." The unicorn smiled. "And I mean it. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've figured it out."

"Figured what out?" I asked.

"The Sixth Element of Harmony." Princess Celestia explained. "The Element of Magic."

"You woke up me up for a thank-you?" Holding back the urge to growl, I glared at Twilight.

"Not exactly, the Princesses heard about Lilac and they wanted to see her." Twilight explained.

"Where's Luna in that case?" I asked, noticing the absence of the blue alicorn.

"How didst thou know Our name?" A voice asked from behind Celestia, slowing coming into view.

The Moon Princess was much different than the Nightmare Night episode. Her midnight blue coat was there, same for the stunning green eyes and moon cutiemark. The difference was in the mane, it was powder blue and made to curl at the ends. She looked a little upset, but that was understandable. Her jewelry was silver with moon insignias on it.

"Your sister controls the sun, ergo her name is Celestia meaning light. You must control the moon, Nightmare Moon, hence your name, Luna, meaning moon. It's not that hard to figure out." Tapping a hoof on my chin, I looked at Luna with a curious gaze. "Nice mane, it goes with your coat." I complimented.

Luna smiled, taking careful steps towards me. "Also, I have a sleeping dragon in the house so refrain from the whole Royal Canterlot Voice if you would be so kind." The blue alicorn nodded.

"*ahem* Raspberry Stardust." Great start. "We wish to see thou dragon that Twilight Sparkle and Spike the dragon claims thou has within thy walls." Great finish.

"I can show you her, but she's needs her sleep after staying up all night. She's very young and I don't want to deal with a cranky dragon this early." I excused.

"It's eight thirty." Spike deadpanned.

"We all stayed up til six to watch the sun not rise. I think that deserves a whole day of sleep. Don't you?" I asked. "Try coming back at lunch, Lilac'll be awake then." I explained. The Princesses, Twilight and Spike nodded.

Nodding, I prepared to close the door.

"I still have a question."

So close.

"Yes Twilight?" I held back groaning, I had to _try_ and be civil.

"How did you know about how I would earn the Element of Magic?" Twilight asked.

Without missing a beat. "I'm psychic." When I tried closing the door, golden magic covered it and pushed it open.

"Why do I have trouble believing you?" Celestia asked me.

"Most ponies do...they don't believe in my great skills of Awesomeness." I bragged. "Plus, does it really matter how I came across such information?"

Twilight Sparkle was starting to look angry. "Not only did you know about the Element of Magic, you also knew about Nightmare Moon and how the Princess told me to come here to plan, even though I didn't tell you."

"I like to brag about my detective skills."

"You're a detective?" Celestia asked me.

"Only on Thursdays. Wednesday's I'm a paranormal creature. Tuesday's I tend to save the world. Monday I work on fun stuff. Sunday I sleep. Saturday I sleep and eat. Friday I sleep, eat and get ready for the week." I said quickly. "No, I'm not a detective. I am pretty good at being a detective though, then again I'm also a good-"

"Raspberry Stardust cease thou crazed speech!" Luna yelled. Her voice _almost_ turning into Royal Canterlot.

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh. Tough crowd." Giving my eyes a quick roll, I looked over at Twilight. "Twilight, don't get stuck on those little things. I just do things like that. It's just Raspberry Stardust being Raspberry Stardust."

"But-"

"Now, as much as I hate slamming doors on others, I need and want to sleep. So, good day." I smiled.

"But-"

" _I said good day!_ " Giving them a smile, I wrapped the door in my own amber magic that covered Celestia's and slammed it shut.

I barely had time to stumble to the couch before I fell asleep, praying to the Story that it would let me go home soon. Believe it or not, I was starting miss that Bellingham girl.


	6. Home Sweet Home

My eyes suddenly opened. I was sitting in the school library and there was only one other person inside. What just happened?

"Morgan," A nearby voice asked.

Looking at the other person, I realized it was that Bellingham girl. What was she doing in here? She looked just the same as before. Her straight caramel hair went past her shoulders, her dark green eyes were looking down on me with curiosity. She was wearing a black tank top with a black and dark gray striped cardigan. She was wearing her favorite jeans with cuts around the knee. I'm guessing they were her favorite, she wore them all the time.

Right now, Bellingham was looking down on me with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"It is Morgan right?" Bellingham asked.

"Yes." I said quickly.

Jumping for maybe… eighteen hours. What had caused me to come back, especially from a Pull?

Getting off the library ground, I felt a hand grab my arm. When I looked up at Bellingham I remembered what I had thought last.

I was actually starting to miss Bellingham.

Standing up, I reached down and grabbed my backpack and my phone. That can't be what brought me back. Maybe the Story just wanted me to finish the episode. Yeah. That's was it.

"My name is Caroline, thanks for asking." Bellingham said sarcastically.

"I didn't ask. I didn't want to know. Goodbye." I said shortly.

I walked around Bellingham and began my way towards my mom and her car. I needed to do some research.

* * *

The minute I got home, I ran upstairs and to my TV. I had to do research on MLP:FIM just after the SSC.

Of course, then I had to get Darcy from whoever she was killing this time. Which movie did I leave her in this time?

Darcy Anderson. My twin sister. My purple eyed, straight haired, sister. My murderer of a sister. I met her in _Child's Play_ some forty years ago. It was for me, more like thirty for her. She was… thirty-four years old last I checked.

She was inventive too. She came up with Blood Polish™. Darce had gotten some clear polish and poured blood in it. No one's figured it out, they just think it's a great shade of red.

Don't tell her I told you this…but she has a _huge_ crush on: Andy Barclay!

I know! She almost murdered him once, I think that's the day she started liking him.

I remember! I left her ' _Scream'_! I wonder how she's doing.

* * *

 _Darcy Anderson_

These bitches get dumber with each movie I go in. Mickey, that guy was easier to kill than I thought. You would think they would try harder to protect themselves. Same for that Loomis chick.

I was dressed as Ghostface, closing in on Sidney.

"Who are you?!" She cried.

"Someone you'll never get to know." A voice said from behind me.

Turning back, I saw a familiar face standing a ways from me. Morgan, always the good doer.

"Sidney, run!" Morgan shouted. She ran up to me. I gave chase.

We ran like this for a minute or so. It ended when I reached.

"You always ruin my fun." I told her, standing in front of a window.

Morgan smiled. "Maybe if you didn't screw with the rules I would let you have some." She looked over towards the window behind me. "You ready?"

"Just get it over with." I said.

Morgan nodded. She ran up to me and pushed us thru the window.

* * *

 _Morgan Spencer_

My sister and I shot up from the bed. I could still feel the rush of falling from that second story window. It was always fun to fall.

"You went on to the sequel?" I asked my sister.

Darcy, without the Ghostface costume, glanced at me. She was my twin with only a few minor differences. Her raven wing hair was straight, going a few inches farther than her shoulders. Her eyes, royal purple, always had that devious little gleam in them. Her usual outfit consisted of a long sleeved t-shirt, jeans, converses painted red (you know how), and on occasion she would wear one black leather fingerless glove.

Darce always hid a knife in her sleeve, tucked up nice so as not to cut her skin by accident. She would also hides bullets, a pack-up gun, spare knife, spare gun, regular gun, a tube of Blood Polish and mascara.

The one thing about her, though, that always stuck out, was her necklace. It was a silver chain, connecting with a pink lollipop charm and pink letters spelling _'LIL SIS'_. She had never taken it off since I gave it to her, not even to bath or kill.

The killer looked at me with a smug look, moving about some junk on the floor. "Totally. I was bored waiting around for your slow ass."

I laughed. "I had better things to do, than worry about how you were doing."

A look of mock hurt covered her facer. "Glad to see I'm so high on your scale of importance." Darcy said, walking around my room and picking up random things. She picked up a small white stuffed cat, with pink eyes. "Is this stuffed animal higher than me?"

"Snow is very high on that list. Just look at those inhuman eyes." I said with a little pout.

"My eyes are purple, you don't get me inhuman than that!" Darcy said, starting to laugh hysterically.

I gave a chuckle, grabbing my remote and changing the channel on my TV from _'Scream 2'_ to My Little Pony, Episode Three. It took my sister all of three seconds to notice.

"' _My Little Pony'_? I saw some six year olds playing with those things by a park. In 1979!" Darcy almost yelled.

"Shh! My family is still in here! They don't know about you remember!" I harshly whispered.

Darcy groaned, leaning her back against one of my walls. I had kept the secret from my family for one reason and one reason alone: they wouldn't believe me.

The last people I told took it badly, I'm pretty sure that part of my arm is still broken in some aspect. One girl, I think her name was Jul-something, had decided that she didn't believe my lies and pushed me down twenty stairs and had her friend pushed me down the other twenty. Needless to say I was not a popular child in Elementary and Middle school. Preschool, now that was a whole other story.

The worst part was, that those years were over quadrupled for me. Since time works differently for me, 5th, 6th, and 7th lasted almost a century. It got easier after I met Darcy, but it was still bad.

If a bunch of kids didn't believe me, ones that I believed were friends, then why would my Christian parents who hated anything that involved magic for it's relation to the Devil as well as horoscopes, Harry Potter, and basically all of the places I've Jumped too?

No. I would never tell them, not a chance.

"You know, that technically means you're thirty-six." I told Darcy as I paused the TV.

She nodded. "Yep. I had a _great_ party."

"You should've had two."

"The other one was a little more... _private_." Darcy said with wink.

I shook my head, giving her a chuckle. "Darce, how many did you kill that night?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I think...twelve. That frat boys will do _anything_ if beer is there."

"Did you at least lace the beer-"

"With the best date-rape drug I could find." Darcy smirked. "They didn't suspect a thing."

The two of us laughed, happy to be together again after a long gap.

* * *

The two of us were there for another hour, until Darcy came to a startling conclusion.

"I'm hungry." Darcy said simply, looking out at my TV screen as the two of us watched _CSI_.

"Me too." I agreed.

"Do you have any food up here?" Darce asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I have some chip bags stored in that third drawer under the TV."

"Drinks?"

"Second, non-alcoholic."

"Great, now I can't get drunk. My clothes?"

"First and some in the closet. The ones in the closet had some stains. Why do you always hurt someone when you come here?" I asked my sister as she pulled a Coke from the second drawer and a bag of spicy nacho Doritos from the third.

Darcy glared at me. "You know why."

It was true. I did know, but it wasn't something I liked admitting. "I have a confession."

"Just admit you're bi and get it over with." Darcy said absentmindedly.

"No, not that." I said as Darcy opened the separate food sources.

"Denial isn't just a river in Africa." Darcy teased.

" _Shut up_." My argument only made Darcy chuckle. Waiting for a good moment to speak, I watched Darcy. "I was Pulled."

Darcy did a spit-take. "You what?! Put the last time you did was with me!"

"My point exactly." I said.

The girl jumped on my bed, she grabbed my forearms and locked eyes with me. "Where did you go? Who did you see? Do I have a new member of the Anderson Clan?" Darcy asked me.

I laughed, trying to push the girl off. "Get off me ya fat oof!" I laughed while shoving the girl off, making her roll and fall off the bed.

Darcy quickly sat up, looking at me with a smile I'm sure my friends have seen on me. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" She chanted.

"Alright! Down girl!" I laughed. "Watch the soda! I can't have another spill!" I warned just as Darcy nearly stepped on it with her knee.

Darcy smiled, picking up the soda and taking a sip. "Now, spill."

Rolling my eyes, I looked at Darcy. "Ponyville. The Mane 6, Spike, the Princesses, Mrs. Cake, and...I think the last one is a yes."

Darcy's eyes widened. "Ye-wait...Mane 6? Princesses? _Ponyville_? You went to _'My Little Pony'_ didn't you!"

"Not by choice, I remind you."

She laughed. "So, what were you? A dragon, a griffon, pegasus? Earth pony, seahorse?" Darcy tried.

"Nope. I was a unicorn. I was raspberry pink, had a midnight blue mane with sterling silver stripes, and amber eyes." My twin sister looked like she was about to start cracking up. "And...the _dragon in my house_ " Her jaw dropped "has mostly lilac scales but the ones on her head, stomach and spines are midnight blue."

"A dragon! You got a dragon!" Darcy cheered, standing up and almost spilling some Coke.

"She's a Made-up Dragon, Darce, she was like...four or five!"

Darcy shrugged, "I was too, you don't see me affected."

"Just a few minutes ago you told me you killed twelve frat guys on your birthday after drugging and having sex with them." I told her.

"Yes, your point?" Darcy asked.

"Ugh!" I groaned, grabbing a pillow and throwing it in her face. "So, if you turned out so bad then imagine how a female dragon that breathes fire will do!" Now, her purple eyes widened. "Exactly. We need to keep this from her as long as we can, when the time is right we'll tell her all we can."

"Wait... _we_?" Darcy asked, starting to look scared.

"Oh? I forgot to mention my sister in Equestria didn't I?" This should be fun. Darcy tried backing away as I got off my bed and walked up to her. "Apparently, in Equestria I have a twin sister. A fraternal twin though. She's a pegasus, with a blood red coat-"

"No."

"Sterling silver mane that's straight as the knife on her cutiemark-"

"Not doing it."

"And royal purple eyes."

"I'm not going to some girly pony world!" Darcy stated.

"And her name was-"

"You can't convince me!" Darcy said.

"Won't need to, you'll just go with me."

"Morgan Annie Spencer, you won't talk me into going there! I won't be able to do anything fun! Please don't make me go!" Darcy pleaded.

"One prob with that Darce." I said, carefully reaching for the remote.

"What?" She asked, eyes slowly looking less panicked.

"You're already there."

With that, I grabbed her wrist and pressed play on the remote

" _I used to wonder what friendship could be!"_

"No!" Darcy said as I dragged her into Equestria.


	7. Back To Equestria with Darcy and I

I landed in the same place I did before. With a quick second, I remembered I hadn't found that spell to numb pain yet, and if I did I didn't remember it. Letting the pain slowly (and agonizingly) come and go, I looked over to see a blood red pegasus waiting near me. She too was trying to block out the pain. Her straight mane was the same as it was in the picture I found, same for her coat.

"I'm going to kill you one of these days." My sister groaned as I slowly got feeling my ears.

"Come back to me on that." I groaned, slowly lifting myself up. "I should really do some more work on finding a spell-"

"Woah. Sis, you look... pink." Darcy interrupted.

"You look red, your point?" I asked.

Darcy looked momentarily confused before slowly standing up and noticing she was standing on all fours. She lifted her head up and glared.

"Now I'm gonna murder you slowly."

"Good luck with that, you don't even the fingers to do it." I taunted.

"Shut up." Darcy said. She noticing something else about us. "Wait...if we're sisters, then why am I a pegasus and you're a unicorn?"

"Pony Dad was a pegasus, Pony Mom was a unicorn. Saw them in a photo, we don't look like either of them."

Darcy laughed. "Of course we don't, we're too awesome to look like anybody."

"It's anypony here."

"Ponyville, anypony, this place has a lot of puns I'm guessing."

"Everypony, nopony, Canterlot, hay fries, and so _so_ much more!"

"NO!" Darcy yelled, fainting dramatically. Or simply falling, I don't know.

Laughing, I realized I was still exhausted. I've been up for almost...twenty-six hours minus a two hour nap. Dang, I needed some sleep. "Come on, we need to get to the house. Also, the dragon's name is Lilac."

Darcy nodded, slowly getting up and walking towards me. "Great. What're our names?"

"Raspberry Stardust" Darcy snickered "And Killjoy." She stopped.

"Up yours." She growled.

"Great. I'm tired now." I said, unceremoniously falling asleep.

* * *

 _Darcy Anderson/Killjoy_

This is why I'm the better twin. Look at her! Falling asleep right before Morgan can take me to our house! Just what I needed!

Ugh... I guess I'll just have to search around. Shouldn't be too hard right?

*growl*

Scratch that.

Turning around, I noticed a _very_ big lion/bat/scorpion thing. It's fur was mustard yellow, it's hair was red like my coat but the rest looked purple. It had big sharp teeth, slowly growling at me and the unconscious unicorn behind me.

"Hello." I said.

He growled, making some spit fly onto my face.

"Nice to meet you too." I said, wiping some spit off. "And just when I thought I wouldn't get to have any fun."

With that, I jumped up and tried punching the lion/bat/scorpion thing right in it's face. It backed up but growled fiercely.

"Come on Kitty, whatcha gonna do now?" I taunted.

It pounced.

"Forgot cats could do that." I said.

Picking my sister up, I rested her on my back as the lion started falling. "You really need to lose weight, sis." I told her.

I began running off, trying to avoid the cat where it would have landed on us both.

"Okay. I'll come back for you later, Kitty, I need to drop of this sack at her house." I said.

The hybrid animal landed, it's head hitting the ground with a *thud*

I almost winced. "Next time, use your head. Cat's are supposed to land on their feet."

With that, I saluted the creature and ran off in a random direction. Why did Morgue always have to fall asleep when cool stuff happened?

* * *

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

"Hey, Sis, wake-up! You got some company!"

"Ugh..."

Lifting up my head, I noticed I was in my bedroom in Ponyville. Looking around the place, I noticed that the door was open wide. Boxes were placed all around as well as different types of furniture. What?

"Razz! Get your butt moving!"

Darcy? Err...Killjoy?

Climbing out of the bed, I slowly made my way down the stairs.

"What was so important I had to be… woken…up." I trailed off.

There, standing in my doorway was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They both had their heads high, both giving stoic faces. Princess Luna's looked way more scary than Celestia's.

"Hello." I greeted, trying to find Darcy/Killjoy. "Hey, Killjoy?"

A silver head appeared from around a corner. "Hiya big sis." Killjoy greeted.

"Killjoy...have you been a good sister?" I asked her, motioning with my eyes towards the Princesses.

The red pegasus shrugged. "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. But I can tell you I wasn't a great cook."

"Ugh," I groaned. I put on a smile and turned to the Royal Sisters. "Would you like to have a seat?"

They nodded and we began.

* * *

My memories are very funny. The bodies I get placed in have some memories in them, major events or ones that impacted them emotionally. Like, this body has memories of her birthday as well as the first day of school. The day her brothers were born, sketchy memories of the day they died and… the day she found Lilac.

Celestia did not sit down, nor did Luna. They both just stared at me as I did. When the dragon in question woke up, the three of us kept talking.

I told them I had planned on moving here because of a feeling I was having, that it felt like my destiny was here.

Apparently, these two did their research too. I learned some new things about this life. I was born with my cutiemark on my flank, so they asked me what it meant.

I told them it meant everything and nothing. I could twist the very fabric of reality simply by existing. Each and every motion I made was done with good intentions, even if they had bad results.

But mostly, it meant that I loved to read.

There was an awkward minute long conversation on Killjoy's bloody knife cutiemark and some even more awkward silence. She did _not_ stop laughing afterwards.

It soon got to the point where Princess Luna asked how I knew of her coming. I noticed Killjoy had to hold back saying ' _that's what she said'_. I told her in my line of work it was a safe bet to know most folklore just in case they were more than just bedtime stories.

Celestia shot back and asked what line of work I was in. I said,

" _I work everywhere, they just don't know it yet."_

Just around two hours after they arrived, they finally asked how I found Lilac.

"Ugh! Razzle can you just tell them so they can go and I can take a nap?" Killjoy groaned.

For the better part of an hour, she had been calling me Razzle. She made a stupid joke about my work, saying I gave my coworkers the ole Razzle Dazzle. It was payback for Killjoy, I just know it.

"Killjoy, shut up!" I almost laughed/groaned at her. My sister just gave me a puppy dog face with her big purple eyes. "That hadn't worked since we were foals, stop it!"

I could hear Lilac giggling next to me. Luna was the same.

"We must say, Ms. Stardust, thy relationship with thy sister is most… unbecoming." The night princess said.

Killjoy spoke up first. "Yeah, but it's a process. She gets on my nerves, I get on her's. In my mind the day is not find until I give Razzle a migraine."

Celestia raised a brow. "Alright, Ms. Killjoy." She turned to me. "You were about to explain, Raspberry."

"Yes! It all started a long time ago when I was a foal. I already had my cutiemark, KJ had her's, I don't think Sunny Flash or Steel Masquerade had theirs though." I started.

"Who art this Sunny Flash and Steel Masquerade?" Luna asked.

"Our brothers. They died at a young age, if I can recall, along with our parents."

Celestia nodded. "I apologize, losing one's family at a young age-"

"Trust me, Celestia, that's not the worst to happen to me in my lifetime." I told the wide eyed Princess.

" **HOW DARE THE INTERRUPT THOU'S PRINCESS!"** Luna yelled.

It was silent for a moment. Or my eardrums stopped working.

"Woah. I didn't think Razzle was telling the truth about the Royal Canterlot Voice." Killjoy laughed, checking her ears for bleeding.

I checked mine and Lilac's. We were all good. "Easy, Luna, if one wants to be treated like a close friend, titles are nothing but extra words.

"Back to my story. So, only half of us had our cutiemarks and Steel was trying to show us three his latest attempt at gaining one. He was working on some strange device that would locate an nearby life form and the coordinates would appear on a screen. It was to help in cases of national emergency to help find survivors."

"A foal made such a complex sounding device?" Celestia asked.

"Steel Mask was gonna be an inventor. The two of us, Mom and Dad knew it, but he and Sunny, not so much." Killjoy said, surprising herself with her knowledge.

"Yeah. He was showing us how it was supposed to work when a little red light was going off."

"I made a joke, saying it was telling Mask to hurry it up." Killjoy laughed.

"But Steel said it wasn't supposed to do that, unless something was about to injure them. It was a safety precaution just in case ponies would in a collapsed tunnel and rocks were still falling. So, just to check, Sunny and I looked up." To add to the effect, I slowly started looking up at the ceiling.

I saw the others look up too.

"Pray tell, why art We gazing upon thy ceiling?" Luna asked.

"No reason. Just adding effect." I answered. "And wouldn't ya know it, we both saw something start to fall. It looked about as big as Steel. Of course, the two of us told Killjoy and Steel. Sunny wanted to get Mom and Dad until I told him they were at a work meeting.

"We just watched the strange thing until we noticed it was headed straight for us, hence why the little red light was blinking, so Killjoy and Sunny moved Steel's device back inside. Steel stayed with it as the thing landed right where it had been.

"It was smoking for a couple seconds, fading away as it cooled down. Looking inside, I found a purple and blue egg inside the crater." I explained.

"Hahaha! Mom and Dad got home and had panic attacks! They kept saying how we could've been killed!" Killjoy laughed. "Razzle had told them that she wanted to keep the egg, _'to remind her of the day she didn't'_."

I nodded, that memory coming up for this body. "After three months of watching it, wrapping it up in almost every blanket I could find, singing to it, talking to it,"

"That one incident where I drew on it." Killjoy added.

"And just about everything else, I felt something I hadn't felt in a really long time. A magic outburst.

"When I came out of it," I rubbed Lilac's midnight blue head scales "this little beauty was crying her big blue eyes out. I named her after the color of her scales and fed her some crushed up apples mixed with crushed up bananas."

"Bananas are good, full of potassium." Killjoy laughed.

"Word to the wise, never go to a party without one." I told Celestia and Luna. "Mom and Dad came home later and saw the little dragon and had another panic attack session. I told them to shut up, it was Lilac's nap time and she had been thru a hard day.

"That's the story of Lilac Melody Stardust." I finished.

"For more information, call 5477-69-177 or Kiss-My-Ass." Killjoy joked, making me giggle but Lilac gasped.

"You said a no-no word!" Lilac said, pointing at Killjoy.

"Yes I did. I hold no shame." KJ said.

"You never have shame." I laughed, almost dryly.

"Good point."

I turned to the Princess and gave them hoofbumps. "Thank you your majesties. Be sure to come by again, but send word. I need to make sure Killjoy is decent." I told them

"If that was on the list of thing for this visit, they never would've come thru the front door!" Killjoy laughed and the Princess walked out said door.

"Yes." Celestia smiled. "Thank, Ms-"

"Just Raspberry will do."

" _Ms. Raspberry_ for letting us into you home. I hope to meet you again." Celestia with a gentle nod.

"With my luck it won't be too far along!" Killjoy said from inside.

Luna held back I smirk, I could see it. "Yes. Thank you, Raspberry Stardust, Killjoy and Lilac. It was a delightful engagement and We wish we could've stayed longer. Good night."

It was then I noticed, the sun was about to set.

"Alright. Have a good night." I said, waiting for the two to be a distance away before closing the door.

I looked over at Killjoy, her purple eyes gleaming the way they always were.

"I didn't know it was an engagement, but I did know you played both sides." Killjoy mocked.

I groaned, loudly enough for Lilac to giggle. "I think you accomplished your daily goal." Rubbing my head with my hoof, I watched as Killjoy jumped for joy.

"Yes! Another day successful!"

* * *

 _Third Person_

Celestia looked at her sister as the sun set behind them.

"You plan to see into her dreams tonight?" Celestia asked.

Luna nodded. "Of course, sister, something about Ms. Stardust and her sister does not fit."

Celestia nodded. Thinking of Raspberry gave her a strange feeling inside her. It was telling her to trust the unicorn, but to also be weary.

* * *

 _Dreamland_

Luna searched thru the dream of Raspberry Stardust. A strange dream it was. The whole place looked larger, mushrooms had signs saying eat me and the flies looked like large pony with their legs stuck to a crescent shape wood (horse flies) while others looked like dragons (dragonflies). The flower were as big as houses and talked.

She believed she saw Twilight Sparkle as a rabbit, wearing a top hat and going on about it being late for some important date.

The Princess of the night kept flying, until she noticed the first area of grayness since her arrival.

She floated down to it and surveyed the area. It all looked as if it had been burned down to the dirt itself. Smoke still rose from the ground here and there. In the center, she saw a large table covered in tea pots and teacups and plates and silverware and biscuits and little glasses saying drink me.

"Nice spread huh?" A voice asked.

Luna spread her midnight wings, showing the unknown presence to fear her. It took a moment for her to notice the being sitting in a large chair made to look like throne.

She looked the same, only she wore a large black hat with a large pink ribbon tied around the base. Around her neck was a colored bow tie with white, orange and pink circles. The rest of her pink coat was covered in a tattered black suit.

Next to her was Killjoy, but she was no bigger than a dormouse. She was wearing a coat similar to her coat color. It had a white tie the ruffled along with a gold belt around her waist. She was waving around a pin like a sword.

Raspberry Stardust laughed, levitating two pieces of toast in the air. "I thought of most of it myself. Did you notice Twilight the rabbit?" Luna nodded, slowly. "That bit will come in 27 weeks. If I'm lucky, I mean."

A stranger creature came by, a small fly but most of it's body was made of butter (butterfly). Raspberry squashed the creature between her toast and separated them, showing the Princess of the Night her buttered toast.

"What is this place?" Luna asked.

Raspberry waved a hoof, placing the bread down on a plate. "Now that, Lulu, depends on who you ask. To the things living here, it's Underland. To a little filly who fell down the rabbit hole, it's Wonderland."

Raspberry gestured to the small Killjoy. "This is DorKilljoy." She gestured to herself. "I'm the Mad Raspberry." She finally aimed a hoof at Luna. "And you are Alice. You are very late young lady!" A tea cup floated towards Luna in amber magic. "Want some tea? Made it fresh from the T gardens?"

Luna stared at Raspberry. "Thou hast mastered the art of dream walking?"

The unicorn nodded. "You bet I did! I learned during…when did we learn to dream walk DorKilljoy?"

The small pegasus stopped trying to defeat her enemy the biscuit to look up at the Mad Raspberry. "When the old glumpy Freddy tried to kill us both! That he did! And I tried splitting 'is head in two, that I did!"

"Ah, yes." Mad Raspberry motioned to the chair to her right. "Come, Alice Luna, take a seat and I'll tell you a tale!"

The alicorn did so, barely noticing how a pale blue dress with a black belt and apron appeared in her, as well as her crown being replaced with a black bow.

Mad Raspberry made Alice Luna a cup of tea as she spun the tale. "Good ole Freddy Krueger. A man gifted with a curse from troublesome gods. After he was burned to death by his fellow villagers for the murder of their children, he was allowed to continue his deeds in their dreams. For when you die in a dream," the tea cup overflowed. "You die in reality.

"One two, Freddy's coming for you.

Three four, better lock the door.

Five six, get a crucifix.

Seven eight. Stay up late.

Nine ten, never sleep again." Raspberry said, a lost look in her eyes.

DorKilljoy took the glass and threw it in Mad Raspberry's face.

"Gah! Thank you, DorKilljoy." Mad Raspberry thanked, "So, Alice Luna, what brings you to Underland this time of night?"

Luna was confused. Alice Luna? She glanced down and noticed her new dress.

"Pray tell, why am I wearing a dress?" Alice Luna asked.

"Alice's dress. Now Alice Luna's dress." DorKilljoy said, getting back to her duel with the biscuit.

Mad Raspberry laughed. "Yes. You are Alice Luna in this place. Now, what brought you here? Did you fall down a rabbit hole? Did Twilight the rabbit bring you here for the Frabjous Day? Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?" The unicorn asked.

Luna placed on her best stoic face. "We came to see if thou told Us the truth. To see of We could give the thy trust."

Mad Raspberry nodded. "Alice Luna, when a stallion is dying in your hooves, do you tell him the medical help is just a few minutes away or that there is know medical team?"

This made the Princess pause.

Mad Raspberry spoke before she could. "You tell him you see help coming. He does not know it's a lie until he is already dead. You lie to the stallion for his own good.

"That is why I lie. To protect others until I can come up with a plan. I give a good lie to gain their trust for when I need it most. I help them when they fall so they will do the same to me. I give them smiles so when I need one they will be the first to show at my door.

"So, Alice Luna, I will tell you my three rules. Rule One: She always lies. Rule Two: make the impossible happen. Rule Three: Never give up." Mad Raspberry explained.

Princess Alice Luna stared at the unicorn for a moment. Mayhaps the unicorn was mad. The Princess understood half of what she just heard.

Before much more could be spoken, a figure ran out from the left of Mad Raspberry. It looked much like Fluttershy, but dressed on red. Another figure came from the right, also looking like Fluttershy but she was wearing all white.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!" Red Fluttershy screamed.

Mad Raspberry looked to Alice Luna. "Oops. Forgot. The Red Queen hates unwelcomed guests." She lifted a glass saying drink me in her magic and pushed it into Luna's muzzle. "Good morning Lulu. I hope to see you again sometime."

Alice Luna was so surprised by the glass pouring a fruity tasting drink down her muzzle, that she badly begun to notice herself waking up.

* * *

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

"Gah!" I yelled, hoping up from my bed in a comedic fashion before landing in a bedsheet cocoon.

It took me a second to calm my breathing.

"Did I just dream I was the Mad Hatter, Darcy was a dormouse, Twilight was a crazed rabbit, Fluttershy was the red and white queen, and that Luna was Alice?" A beat. "Cool."

With that, I climbed out of the cocoon to make some breakfast for the three of us. We had a big week planned.


	8. Trixie vs Morgan

Life had been alright since the Summer Sun Celebration. Darcy/Killjoy and I had helped with Applebuck season, and laughed my plot off when Gilda came to town and Darcy/Killjoy nearly beat the griffon into the ground. Of course, I yelled at Gilda before that like I was on a rampage but still.

Four weeks. I've been here four weeks. The most I've done is watch Lilac and screw with the Mane 6. Twilight was my favorite to mess with. Rainbow Dash was Darcy's/Killjoy's.

The pegasus had quickly mastered flying. According to my sister, it was very similar to flying a plane. Just have to get the numbers right.

All I needed to do, was prepare for Trixie. I had my costume all ready, same for Lilac's. I had checked up on some spells that were needed and finally, I was ready to party.

"So...how hard did you fall on your head when you were a baby?" Killjoy asked me, laying on the bed in my room as I put the finishing touches on my wizard robe.

"You do realize that if I was dropped on my head, you were too right?" I told her, making sure I didn't prick my hoof.

Killjoy was silent. I smirked.

"Shut up." Killjoy retorted. I heard the sounds of attempted wing flapping. "Flying was way easier when I was a witch."

"Well, not really. You almost dropped me _twice_. Why did you even do that? You know how those wolves felt about witches." I told her, not taking my eyes off the cloak. "Plus, you're already a good flyer as a pony."

"It's not easy flying short range." Killjoy grumbled.

"Figure out how." I commanded. "I'm wondering why you don't already know how."

"Easy." Killjoy said.

A beat.

"You don't actually have an excuse do you?"

"Nope." Killjoy said, in the same tone as Big Macintosh.

" _Great_. Oh, I forgot to ask, how was camping?" I asked, actually turning towards my sister.

Killjoy had decided to go camping over the weekend, taking Lilac with her. Killjoy said she wanted to show Lilac how to survive out in the wild in case of emergencies. That, and to just bond with her. My sister always was a fan of camping.

She groaned, loudly. "It was alright, but I tried fishing and apparently pony's can't handle it's taste. Lilac could. Why couldn't I have been a dragon? At least then I could eat really food and not that crap they tried feeding me at that café!"

I laughed. "Because, it would be kinda hard to explain how a dragon is my twin sister." With that, I pulled the last bit of string from the cloak and looked at the finished product.

"Still...I wanted to eat meat." Darcy groaned.

"Good luck with that, sis." I told her, lifting the robe up in my amber magic and put it on. I also lifted up the matching hat. "How do I look?"

The pegasus placed her purple eyes on me. She smirked and held back a chuckle. "You look like Mickey Mouse."

"Shut up." I said. Killjoy only laughed.

* * *

 _Twilight_

It had been an exciting few weeks. Since I had been here, I have learned so much. It has been great. I have been invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, assisted Applejack with Applebuck Season, and watched a griffon come to town. Such strange things happening in this town, I hope it doesn't become a regular occurrence.

But one thing I have learned, is that Raspberry Stardust is out to get me.

Now, now. I know I just sound like I'm a crazed mare, but wouldn't you if she did the things she did to me to you?

One such example, is when I recieved the tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala, she chased me in the large crowd and then teleported to my house! She wouldn't stop laughing, saying _'it had been a long time since I was a part of a montage crowd'_ , whatever that even is. During Applebuck Season, she drugged Applejack! She _tried_ to put the blame on a nice seeming dark red pegasus with a silver mane, but I still knew it was Raspberry. I'm still sure Raspberry did something with Gilda, I just can't figure out what!

That wasn't my goal for today, though, because today I'm practicing my spells. Right now, I was practicing #25. A mustache spell with Spike as my guinea pig.

"Come on, Twilight, you can do it!" Spike encouraged.

"Okay," I glanced up at my horn, "Here it goes."

Charging up my horn, I aimed it at Spike. After a moment, I heard a small poof.

"Ha ho! You did it!" Spike cheered. My closest friend walked over to the chart we had been keeping of my accomplishments. He made a red checkmark by the spell at the bottom of the list. "Growing magic. That's number 25! 25 different tricks and counting!"

My ears splayed back and I'm sure I was blushing. Spike was exaggerating. I wasn't _that_ good at magic.

"And I think this is _the best trick so far!_ " Spike said, posing in front of the large mirror we had placed so him or I could see the results of certain spells with our own eyes. "Hel _lo Rarity_!" Spike's eyes widened, he twirled the mustache around in his claws. " _'What's that'_? Oh nothing, just my awesome mustache!" The dragon chuckled.

"Sorry _Romeo_ , but as enticing as you look, it's just for practice and it's gotta go." I said, charging up my horn with the removal spell.

"Wait!" In another small poof, the black mustache was gone. "Aw rats."

I giggled. My mind suddenly went back to my thoughts on Raspberry and Lilac. Did she test spells or other things on the little dragon too?

"Uh...Twilight? Are you...okay?" Spike asked.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up at him.

The dragon was staring at me, cautiously walking up to me. "You started looking really serious a second ago. What was it?"

I waved a hoof. "It's nothing. I'm just...thinking."

He raised a brow. "About?"

"Raspberry Stardust."

Spike rolled his eyes and groaned. "Her again? Twilight, you gotta just let it _go_."

"But I can't! How did she know about Princess Luna, when not even _any_ the books I've read even described an alicorn like her! The only one was the book with the Mare in the Moon legend, and that was kept in the Canterlot Library! How did she know that I was the Element of Magic? How did she even know what the mysterious six element even was!?" I said.

Spike rolled his eyes again. "It's just like the Princess explained. Raspberry looks at a lot of ponytales so that she is always prepared. She's kinda like you when you think about it. Is good with magic, has a dragon, recently moved to Ponyville, and believed in the legend of Nightmare Moon."

"I'm not like her! She's rude, arrogant, a bad influence _and_ she drugged Applejack!" I reminded.

"No. She told you that red pegasus did it. What was her name... Buzzkill? Joy something?" Spike pondered. He shook his head, trying to get back on topic. "And, Raspberry and Lilac are new in town. Don't you think, maybe, that they did things differently at their old home than in Ponyville? Who knows, maybe Raspberry was trying to be nice by agreeing with you on Nightmare Moon coming back. Or maybe she was just trying to make friends with you. Can you give her the benefit of the doubt?" Spike asked.

It was silent as I tried to think of something else to say, but nothing really came to mind as a rebuttal.

"Let's go into town. The Checklist for the Day says we need to go shopping today." Was the only thing I could think of to stop this conversation.

* * *

Spike, Snips, Snails and I finally arrived at the box, my friends apparently already there in the front row. Those two colts had dragged us all the way out here, something about a new and powerful unicorn. They told Spike and I that this unicorn had more magical ability than any other pony, but...not to sound showboaty...what did that make me? Princess Celestia's Faithful Student?

"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the G _r_ eat and Powe _r_ ful _Trixie_!"

There was a large cloud of purple smoke. When it cleared, a blue unicorn stood on stage. She had purple pink eyes, a silvery white mane, and a purple hat with yellow and blue stars with a matching cape and a blue crystal as it's clasp.

The crowd ooh'd and aah'd. The box had unfolded into a stage, with more room on the sides. The old sides were now facing outwards with two sets of three trumpets on both sides. The roof had popped open, revealing a red circle with a white swirl and small silver boxes on the side, a large blue planet with a yellow ring and three five pointed stars attacked by springs, a purple and white striped flag, and a purple banner with yellow and blue stars with a symbol of a wand with a five pointed star tip waving about a blue ribbon looking object.

The supposed Great and Powerful Trixie leaned out towards the crowd. "Watch in awe, as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most _spectacular_ features of magic every witnessed by pony eyes!"

As she slowly finished speaking, Trixie stood up on her hindlegs and her front hooves out wide. A large amount of fireworks shot out from all places on the stage. The red circle began to spin and sparks flew out the silver boxes, green fire came from the ends of the stage close to the crowd, pink and green fireworks came out.

The crowd sounded amazed. Whoever Trixie was, she was good.

"My my, what boasting." Rarity said from next to me.

"Come on!" Spike called out. "Nopony's as magical as Twilig-Twi-Twi-twi...oh. Hey Rarity." Spike stuttered. "I...ah..." His eyes widened. " _Mustache_!" The dragon dashed off.

I walked up to Rarity, worried. "There's...nothing wrong with being talented...is there?" I asked, scared about my friends not liking my magical abilities.

"Nothin' at all." Applejack said, glancing back to the stage to glare at Trixie as the showmare made a bouquet of flowers appear. "'cept for when somepony goes around showin' um off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."

"Just because one is has the ability to perform lots of magic does _not_ make one better than the rest of us." Rarity finished Applejack's comment.

Did...did they all feel this way? About powerful magic users?

About me?

"Yeah!"

Huh?

"Especially when you got me around being better than the rest of us." Rainbow Dash said.

Oh...phew...for a second I thought Rainbow Dash was responding to my own internal questions.

Applejack glared at Rainbow, making the cyan pegasus stutter and mutter. "I'm mean. Yeah! Magic shmagic. Boo!"

Looking at the unicorn on the stage, I was slightly terrified of what would happen next.

"Well, well, well. It seems we have some _neigh_ sayers in the audience."

Trixie glared at my friends, they glared back.

"Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Do they not know, they are in the presence of the Most Magical Unicorn in all of Equestria?!" The Showmare shouted from the stage.

"I challenge yee!"

Oh dear...

A mare climbed up the stage, standing across from Trixie. Her dark pink coat was slightly covered with a dark red cloak with a golden thread wrapped around her waist. A blue pointed hat with golden stars and a crescent moon rested on the top of her head, nearly covering her horn.

Raspberry Stardust, what is she doing _now_?

"And just who are you to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?" The blue unicorn asked.

Raspberry shrugged, "Nopony special. Just a unicorn living with her sister and a dragonling, somehow managing to keep my sanity as well as perform various magical acts as my mysterious alter ego... Sorcerer Raspberry!"

More fireworks appeared, this time spelling Sorcerer Raspberry in big bold pink and blue letters.

"And my assistant! Lilac the Dragon!" In another flash, the small dragonling appeared on stage. She was wearing a deep purple robe with silver edges.

Looking at Trixie, I saw her scoff.

"So? Anything you can do, Trixie can surely do better!" Trixie boasted.

Raspberry gained a shocked look. "You? You think you can...HAHAHA!" The mare started laughing hysterically for a few seconds. "Really, _you_? The show mare that _'supposedly'_ took down an Ursa Major in Hoofington? Please. That's funny Trixie, that's just _too_ funny! You can't do half the things I do or done."

Trixie growled. "Trixie did take down an Ursa Major!"

Raspberry rolled her amber eyes. "Yeah, and I'm a werepony."

The showmare glared at the pink unicorn. "Trixie will show you who the superior unicorn is! Trixie suggest a competition!"

"Thank goodness you did, I was about to do it and then I would've looked stupid." Raspberry said, remaining calm surprisingly.

Trixie's look became more serious and enraged. "Trixie says that the winner will by the Highest Level Unicorn!"

I could hear the crowd turning to Raspberry, her face still calm. "Ahem, _I_ say that the loser shall become the Winner's Student. So that maybe someday, the loser can try to hold a match to the candle of the Unicorn's Greatness or maybe, make new prints in the dirt I walk on."

Trixie only scoffed. "Trixie agrees!"

Raspberry's hat glowed yellow, lifting the hat and placing it on the small dragon's head. It was too big, and fell across her eyes. Lilac lifted it up slightly so she could watch.

"My spell is one that I think will be hard to do... I shall give the wings of a butterfly to myself," Raspberry gestured to the purple dragon, "And my assistant!"

The crowd gasped, Raspberry's horn still glowed yellow. She scrunched her face up in concentration, and slowly her back as well as Lilac's began to glow. Trixie took a small step back, I could plainly see a look of worry cross over her face. Raspberry was still concentrating, sparks were starting to fly from her horn.

There was a bright flash, once it was gone we were all astounded.

Resting on the mare's back, rested large butterfly wings colored dark pink with blue and yellow spots while the little dragon had similar wings but light purple and no yellow.

"Now...we fly!"

The two butterfly winged figures on stage fluttered up into the gently placed the hat onto the stage, so as not to get herself hurt I suppose. Raspberry started flying over the crowd and the dragonette hovered over the stage and waving, soon joining Raspberry over the crowd.

After a minute or so of flying, the two landed on the stage and Raspberry gave Trixie a laugh.

"Well, can you do that better than I did?"

Trixie looked slightly terrified for a moment, but shook her head. "Hah! Trixie could do that spell in her sleep!"

Raspberry took her hat back from Lilac, placing it back on her head. "Great, because when I did it to myself and a dragon, you'll have to do it to yourself, another dragon and another pony. Three times, you may go when ready."

Oh no.

Trixie scanned the crowd, her eyes landing on me and Spike.

"You there! Come onto the stage to help the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"You need help? Why just demand her assistance?" Raspberry taunted, her sparkling wings fluttering overhead Trixie.

"Urg! You, purple unicorn, Trixie demands your assistance!" Trixie yelled.

"Who? Me? Nope, sorry. I think I hear my laundry calling! Bye!" I excused before grabbing Spike and running home.

* * *

 _Morgan_

Why did Twilight have to make things so difficult? Now I'll have to deal with Trixie alone. Or, not.

"Well Trixie, I guess this means I am Highest Level Unicorn." A small spell was cast to make more fireworks burst behind me. Saying _Highest Level Unicorn- Raspberry Stardust. Like there was any doubt?_

The blue unicorn growled. She stomped her hoof onto the stage. "No! Trixie will not be defeated so easily!"

"Whatever you say, foal, whatever you say." Flapping the butterfly wings again, I flew above the fold out stage. "When you're ready to take on some _real_ magic, feel free to call me. Come on Lilac, we fly!"

With that, my charge and I flew in the direction of our little home.

[hr]

Killjoy was waiting for me when I got back home. She was smirking up a storm.

"So, I take it things went well?" Killjoy asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I said.

"You have pink butterfly wings on your back and Lilac has purple dragonfly wings." She laughed.

"Oh. I forgot to fix that, huh?" I said, also noticing I was still flying. "Ah well. Live and learn." I shrugged, flying into our home and just doing random things.

You know, and preparing for the Ursa Minor attack tonight.

It was so nice to fly.

* * *

The night had come sooner than I supposed. I eventually had to take the wings away from Lilac and myself. The dragon kept complaining about bumping into things with them. That, and I was getting annoyed with Killjoy calling me a flutterpony.

Flutterponies, I think I had them in my dream last night. Yeah, I was Peter Pan, Killjoy was Captain Hook, the Mane 6 were the lost colts, Lilac was Tinker Bell, and Princess Luna was Wendy. She had been coming into my dreams once a week and I always had a fun when she did. A week or so ago we did the Wizard of Oz and the week before it was Cinderella.

Luna was such fun as Dorothy and the Fairy Godmother. I was a good Wizard and Cinderella.

I wonder what I would do next time...

"OH MY GOD I KILLED HER!"

What in the name of the Story was that pegasus doing?

Running downstairs (which was _way_ harder with four hooves) I noticed my sister standing in front of the door.

"Whathappened?Who'sdead?WhodidyoukillKJ?Whereisshe?" I sputtered quickly.

The blood red pegasus was smiling in her own prideful way, motioning a hoof towards me. "See, I told you she would come down." Killjoy said to the pony standing outside.

"Trixie did not think screaming into her ears was a good tactic." The cyan unicorn groaned.

Killjoy rolled her eyes and looked up at me. "So, how ya doin'?"

Once my heart rate calmed down, I glared at my twin. "I'm gonna to kill you someday."

"Good luck. Have fun with your little buddy." My sister skipped off towards the kitchen, probably to make a sandwich.

I looked over at Trixie. She was wearing her hat and cap, and that familiar scowl. It was kinda funny, if not for the fact that she was glaring at me.

"Trixie wants to speak with you." The mare growled.

"Never would've guessed." I mumbled as I walked outside and closed the door behind me. "So, what did you want oh _Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie_?" I asked her, adding some extras r's.

Trixie gave me a deadpan look. "Are you...mocking Trixie?" She asked.

"Mmm...yes." I said. "Is this about how I totally and completely whipped you plot back on stage?" Trixie's eyes grew wide, most likely from my wording. "Yeah, don't worry. I've faced far more troubling villains than a showmare with an identity issue." The unicorn growled.

"Trixie does _not_ have a mental issue!"

I gave her a faux sympathetic look. "Oh, Trixie," I placed a pink hoof on her shoulder. "You don't have _a_ mental issue," I patted twice, "You have _many_ mental issues. I'll be sure to remember them for my future Autobiography. ' _Raspberry Stardust, the Highest Level Unicorn's Journey to Power'_! I'm planning on having the audiobook done by myself, I've been told my voice is _amazing_!"

Trixie growled. "How dare you insult Trixie!"

"No, I don't want dare. Can I switch to truth?" I asked.

"Are you insane?!"

"In three different countries, two states and a partridge in a pear tree!" I chuckled. "You know, Trixie, all jokes aside, I have a small tip for your shows. Next time, don't challenge the crowd to an _'I'm better than you'_ or they might not be as nice as I was."

"Nice? Nice?! You publicly humiliated the Great and Powerful Trixie!" The showmare almost shouted in my face.

"Better than being publicly humiliated by having a unicorn under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, the only pegasus to do a Sonic Rainboom and survive, the multiple blue ribbon winning owner of Sweet Apple Acres, the ponies who took down Nightmare Moon and brought back the day, _and_ a pony who I have seen wrestle a bear, a cockatrice, a dragon and a God of Chaos do it." I explained to the wide eyed Trixie.

"Also, the mares who will in about a year or so stop an evil unicorn king who was banished into shadow, stop an invasion, will get a visit from the Guardian of Tartartus, stop a rampaging dragon, face off Diamond Dogs, become a single superhero shared between five of them, go on a first name basis with Princess Luna and Princess Celestia

" _And_ perform a great re-telling of the original Hearth's Warming Story. That's just to name a few of the things they're gonna do."

I couldn't tell what emotion Trixie was showing. It was changing between awe, fear, shock, surprise, confusion, and some strange mixture of all five.

I continued to smile as I waited thru the awkward silence. "Another tip, I recommend getting back to your cart before the sun sets. You never know what'll happen on a Tuesday in Ponyville."

Feeling as though no more could be said, I walked into my house and saw Killjoy smirking.

"Did you have to tell her all that?" She asked.

"Duh, did you _see_ the look on her face? It was awesome!"

Killjoy shrugged. "I would've told her the cool stuff I've done."

"You know I don't like to brag about that stuff." I told my psychopath of a sister.

"True, but would it be so bad if the ponies here knew you helped take down a Dalek Fleet? Or how you took down an evil witch hellbent on killing you and your family at the time? Or how you've arrested hundreds of killers and villains?" Killjoy said. "I mean, come on! Be proud of that shit!"

"I never did any of that. I only tagged along for the ride. A no good tag along. Nothing has ever been done by my own two hands...hooves...that wasn't already somebody else's victory." I told Darcy who only groaned loudly and slammed her head into the wall. "It's stuff like that, that makes me think you have mental issues."

Killjoy removed her head, glaring at me as I walked into the kitchen. "At least _pretend_ that they were your victories! Come on, who's gonna know?"

"I'll know, KJ, I'll know." I told my sister, my voice started to sound annoyed and upset.

"It shouldn't matter! Be proud of who you are! Be proud of what you can do!" Killjoy almost shouted.

"HOW CAN I BE PROUD!" I shouted. "HOW CAN I BE PROUD WHEN THIS STUPID GIFT HAS ONLY BROUGHT ME PAIN AND SUFFERING! I' M A WORTHLESS TAG ALONG WHO WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT! TELL ME HOW, KILLJOY! TELL! ME! HOW?!" I screamed at her.

Killjoy stared at me with her purple eyes, a light glare to it. "Come on, Morgue, would it really be so hard? Just once in your life, take credit for something!"

"Okay." I lifted something from the kitchen and threw it at her face. "I take credit from throwing that banana at your face."

The pegasus brushed it off her face. "Oh it. Is. On!"

I smiled. I could never take someone else's credit. The only thing I took credit for was those years I spent as a killer.

* * *

That night, when everypony was falling asleep, I heard a large roar come from behind my house. In the Everfree forest.

"MOMMY!" Lilac shouted, running up to me and gripping my foreleg. "What is that?!"

"An Ursa Minor. We need to help, he's headed straight for Ponyville!"

Lilac gasped. I lifted her with my magic and placed her on my back. As I ran towards the large starry bear, a thought crossed my mind. "Where's your aunt?" I asked Lilac.

"She went into town! She said something about Rainbow Dash!"

I rolled my eyes. She was gonna prank Rainbow _now_?

"There!" Lilac yelled, pointing at a large blue shape. "It's huge!"

"I know!" I told the dragon as I ran towards it.

"Why are we running towards it?!" Lilac shouted over a large roar the bear gave.

"Rule 6: Always run towards the trouble and or the big scary monster!" I shouted back. I came a close stop, seeing Trixie, Snips and Snails, and Twilight and Spike.

"MADE IT UP?!" Snips and Snails yelled just as the Ursa Minor loomed over the seven of us.

"What the hell is going on over here?"

Trixie looked over at me, her eyes narrowing. "Did you know that Ursa would break Trixie's wagon?!"

"No." I lied.

She slammed a hoof on the ground. "You told Trixie to get back to her wagon before sunset! You wanted that Ursa Major would break Trixie's wagon with Trixie inside!"

"I did not. You're just putting words in my mouth. I _warned_ you that something like this _could_ happen tonight. Plain and simple." I said, feeling Lilac hop off my back.

The dragon gripped onto my back, but I made sure not to react to her claws digging into my flesh. "What is that?" Lilac said worriedly.

"Just an Ursa Minor," I told the dragon, "an adorable little baby Ursa. Poor thing looks exhausted."

Trixie stared at me, looking away just before Twilight started casting magic. "That's just a baby?!"

"Uhh...yeah?" I said. Trixie still looked confused when I spoke again. "We should feel lucky Mama Ursa hasn't noticed he's gone. Ho, colt. We'd all be in a heap of trouble if that were to happen." Turning towards Twilight, her horn looked ready to explode or something. "So, Trixie, what's going on exactly?"

The stage unicorn did not turn around, missing the spectacle behind her as ponies began to stare with awe. She aimed a blue hoof at Snips and Snails. "The two nitwit colts brought that monster into town! It smashed Trixie's wagon and almost took Trixie with it!"

"Wow. You, Missy, have terrible back luck. And that's coming from a girl who got electrocuted three times in ten minutes." The Ninth Doctor did _not_ like being told he was like a Dalek. Or that I was connected to one via radio signal that my idiot brain latched onto. 2012 is not my year.

Trixie only groaned, turning away from to see the Ursa Minor nearly land on her, and me...

"Ah!" Lilac squealed, hiding herself behind me as Twilight lifted the cub into the air.

I patted Lilac on the back. "See, Lilac, this is why Rule 8 is important."

"8?" Lilac asked.

"Oh, if you find yourself against a big angry monster, pray to a holy being that somepony will save you." I said with a smile.

Lilac just nodded, probably too tired to really care.

The Ursa was lifted off the ground in purple magic, rocking slowly back to sleep as the bottle/water tower was given to him. After a little more exertion on Twilight's part, the bear was gently placed back in his mother's cave. It took maybe two minutes for Twilight's horn to stop it's nearly blinding glow.

It was silent for a full two seconds before the growing crowd began to cheer for Twilight.

"That was amazing!" Spike shouted.

"Heaven's ta Betsy," Applejack cheered, "we know ya had ability, but not that much!"

Twilight turned to them a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me!" She pleaded to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

They all smiled "Hate you?" They all asked.

"Why, whatever do you mean darling?" Rarity asked.

"Well, I know how much you hated Trixie's showing off her magic tricks... and I just thought-" Twilight started.

"Woah, woah, woah."

"Woah." I added.

"Magic's got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loud mouth." Rainbow Dash explained.

"Most unpleasant." Rarity commented.

"All hat an no cattle." Applejack also commented.

"Plus, I was a way better magician than her." I also commented, leading to the glares of half of the Mane 6. "What? I had a cooler hat too."

They rolled their eyes before looking back at Twilight. "So..." Twilight began, "You _like_ my magic tricks?"

Applejack's smile brightened. "Yer magic is a part a who you are sugarcube and we like who you are." She gave Twilight an almost smug smile. "We're proud ta have such a powerful magic talent unicorn as our friend."

"And after whopping that Ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder!" Rainbow Dash encouraged.

"You are?!" Twilight said, a hopeful look ov her face.

The three mares nodded.

"Plus, that was just a baby. Imagine what Twi could do if she actual fought an Ursa Major instead of an Ursa Minor." I said.

"A what?!"

' _Does everybody need to scream that when they find out it's a baby? Geez!'_

"Yes." Twilight said, giving me a warily look. "A baby. That's what I was reading when Spike came to get me. I was so intrigued by what Raspberry Stardust said about Trixie that I was compelled to do a little research on them. Also, it wasn't rampaging, it was just cranky that someponies woke him up."

With those last few words, everypony looked towards Snips and Snails. Said colts hunched down and laughed awkwardly.

"If that was an Ursa Minor, what's an Ursa Major like?!" Spike said.

"You don't wanna know." Twilight and I said at the same time, making the purple unicorn look towards me and glare.

Before Trixie could even say anything, I lit up my horn and wrapped her muzzle in a yellow glow. The azure unicorn glared at me. "What? I didn't wanna hear you go on and on about how you were still better than Twilight Sparkle...or me." I added quickly. "So just drop your little smoke bomb and run before I feel the urge to play hoofball."

Trixie glared for a second longer, her body was suddenly covered in gray smoke as when it dissipated the mare was seen running in the distance.

Rainbow flew up, preparing to fly after her. "Just let her go." Twilight said. "Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson."

I walked over into the path of Snips and Snails, smiling as Twilight joined me on my left.

"Now..as for you two." Twilight said sternly.

Snips and Snails laughed, a faint blush on their faces.

"We're sorry we woke up that Ursa Minor." Snips apologized.

"We just wanted to see some _awesome_ magic!" Snails added.

"Yeah! And the way you vanquished that Ursa Minor was awesome!" Snips cheered. "And the way you grew those cool wings was awesome!" I had a feeling that one was directed towards me.

I smiled, Twilight did not. Thought, I didn't give a happy smile. "I say you give them number 25." I whispered in Twilight's direction.

"How did you know about-"

"We deserve whatever punishment you give us." Snails said as he and Snaips bowed before us.

Twilight, still a little confused by my statement, looked off in the direction of Trixie's crushed cart. "Well...for starters you can clean us this mess."

"Place it by my house. I needed some wood for a project." I instructed as Spike walked up next to Twilight. On another note, I felt Lilac drooling on my back.

"And what do you think Spike? Should I give them number 25?" Twilight asked.

"Oh. 25. Yes, and I think I deserve it too." Spike agreed.

"Heh?" The two colts asked.

"I think you're right." Twilight said, grinning evilly.

In a flash of purple, the three boys had mustaches.

"Sweet." They all said with smiles.

As we all went our separate ways for the night, I noticed a cloud looming over Rainbow Dash with a familiar blood red blob on top.

"Uh..Rainbow Dash." I started.

The prismatic pegasus looked back at me. "What?"

That's when the bubblegum pink paint fell on her entire body.

"Nevermind." I said, picking up Lilac in my magic and trotting back towards my house. Not before taking a quick picture of course.

Darcy, you clever girl. What would I do without you?

* * *

 _Dear Princess Celestia,_

 _I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship. I was so afraid of being thought of as a show off that was hiding a part of who I was. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off… Especially when you're standing up for your friends._

 _Your faithful Student,_

 _Twilight Sparkle_

 _PS- I have gained more questions about Raspberry Stardust. Last night, she said something that to this point only Spike and I were aware of. I am aware that Princess Luna is looking into her, but could it be possible for you to send what she has found to me?_

Oh, Twilight, if only I had something to give you. All we have gathered on Raspberry Stardust is a folder filled with Black-out information. Some kind of layered spell was placed on it so my sister and I could not read it.

According to our Royal Records, Raspberry Stardust does not exist…and neither does her sister.


	9. Meeting Zecora

Everyone was saying the same thing about this place. It's evil. It's cursed. It's where that witch lives. I guess those guys just don't know what I do.

The only thing that's in here that's really dangerous is Poison Joke. That stuff will mess you up, in a funny way.

Right now, I was walking in to try and find the supposed Witch of the Everfree Forest. She wasn't as bad as everypony was saying. Just misunderstood, just like I was.

It took me a little over an hour, and almost getting attacked by a cockatrice, to find the zebra's hut.

Yeah. Zecora was a zebra. I couldn't really say anything about how strange that was, I was a dark pink unicorn with a blue and silver mane with a tattoo of a book on my flanks. Also, my sister was a dark red pegasus with a near straight silver mane, purple eyes and a cutiemark of a bloody knife and my charge was a dragon. A black and white zebra was normal by comparison.

I carefully trotted towards the hut. It was made from a tree, from the looks of it. Only two windows from what I could see, various colored jars hung from the branches of the tree, a red and green mask was placed above the door, another mask was placed on a root but had some brown added to it. The door was red with a yellow doorknob.

I knocked. Twice.

After a brief pause, I heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from inside the tree hut. The door was opened, slowly letting the zebra come in my sights.

A tall zebra stood behind the door. From my memory, I remembered her coat was slightly gray with various dark grey stripes on her back, legs, muzzle and a strange circular sun on her flank. Her eyes were I think sea green, or at least a very blue shade of green. The tips of her hooves were all black. Her mane had been styled into a Mohawk, going above her head in an off white and near black. The black bits matched up with some black stripes on her head.

Her jewelry stood out slightly. Four gold rings completely covered her neck, five bracelets covered her left front knee, Zecora had large golden hoop earrings.

Most people where I'm from, they expected zebras to bare multiple stripes. Almost too many. Zecora didn't really have much.

She stared at me for a moment. Probably wondering what I was doing here.

"Oh, but what is this I see. A pony, braving the Everfree to visit my tree."

The rhyming. That made the corner of my lips turn up into a smile. Zecora had a near deep voice, it was also kind of cheery. It was nice.

"Yes. That much is true. I came here, looking for you." I rhymed back.

This made Zecora smile back. I guessed she wasn't expecting a pony to come to her home and rhyme.

"Rhyming aside," I began, "I came here because my friends are gonna do something incredibly stupid today. You heard of the new unicorn that came into town a few weeks back?"

"The unicorn who took down Nightmare Moon, saving us from eternal doom." Zecora said.

"That's the one." I said. "When you head out into Ponyville today, she'll bring her friends in here. This will lead them to a patch of Poison Joke."

Zecora backed up. "What would make those pony folk run right into the Poison Joke?"

"A young filly named Apple Bloom. She follows you to prove she can be brave and that you're nice. Her sister is Applejack, Twilight's friend. What happens today is unavoidable, so I must ask that when I come back here tomorrow morning if it was at all possible I could help make the cure?" I asked.

Zecora eyed me, wondering whether or not to listen to me. "Tell me this, and I will agree," The zebra began, "How did you know to come to me?"

"I'm really good at this sort of thing. Also, I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Raspberry Stardust." I gave her my pony name.

The zebra smiled. "Zecora is the name of which I am known. Thank you, young Raspberry, for coming to my home."

I gave her a nod as she slowly walked out of her house. It took me a moment to notice the dark blown cloak covering her body.

"It was no trouble Zecora. I'll be back tomorrow." Waving goodbye, I took a path taking me straight into town.

Ponies called this place dangerous and mysterious. I called it The Everfree Forest: Forever Free of Rules.

A forest just like the ones back home.

* * *

Ponyville. A town filled with activity. Almost every Tuesday, like clock work, things went undeniably wrong. Whether it was a dragon taking a nap in the mountain tops or a great big thunder storm magically making Rarity and Applejack buddies, or maybe even a strange striped pony making an almost monthly trip into town to search for ponies to curse.

That was today. Pretty cool huh?

Lilac walked alongside me as the two of us trotted into the Market. It was a ghost town to say the least. The little dragon looked scared, but I thought I had a certain pep in my step.

"Mommy…" She started.

"Yeah-huh?" I said, looking around for the turn towards Sugarcube Corner.

"Umm…where is everypony?"

"Hiding." I said after a brief pause. I had noticed Carrot Top running into a house and slamming the door.

"From what?" Lilac asked.

"Not what, who. I actually met the mare this morning, very nice zebra." I said.

Lilac was silent... and still. I turned back to see the dragonling trying to make sense of the situation. "A…zebra?"

I nodded, wondering why Lilac looked so…excited?

"A zebra's in town?!" Lilac cheered.

"Yeah…she lives in the Everfree Forest." I told the purple dragon.

"That's really cool! I haven't seen a zebra since Great Grandpa Zanu and Great Grandma Medical Wing came to visit when I was a baby!" The dragon said.

Wait… what?

I suddenly remembered something I had seen some weeks ago. In one of the photos I had found. A dark brown pegasus stallion, with a matching brown and sterling silver mane stood around other ponies. Except… he had some black zebra stripes.

Was I part zebra? Awesome!

"Yeah. She's a zebra. I met her earlier." I said only to hear a dragoness' squeal.

"That's so cool!" Lilac cheered.

I rubbed my ear, making sure there wasn't any blood. "Geez, Lilac, calm down. I need these ears. I only get the two!" I chuckled.

Lilac did too, now starting to hop on my back. "So where is the zebra?"

"Her name is Zecora. It would be more polite if you stopped calling her _'the zebra'_." I instructed.

The dragon only giggled. "Yes Mommy. Where is Zecora?"

"Up ahead, near Sugarcube Corner."

While we trotted along, I noticed the topic of our conversation in the distance. She was wearing her cloak and was digging at the ground. She looked up, but away from us, in the direction of the bakery.

I smiled, glad to have found her. Trotting up to her, I prepared to wave.

"Hey! Miss Zecora! Hi!" Lilac shouted, pulling herself up so she rested on my head.

The cloaked figure turned to us, the hood of her cloaking coming down. Her mohawked black and white mane was seen, along with her hoop earrings and teal eyes.

I waved, trying to see past the bits of my mane that fell into my face. Zecora waved back.

When I walked up to her, I shook the zebra's hoof. "Hey Zecora. How's your day been?"

The shaman shook her head. "Not so good my dead friend, it seems the shops are closed again."

I looked around, noticed empty shops. Except for the window at Sugarcube Corner full of ponies.

"Wow. How often does that happen to you?" I asked, more for Lilac than for me.

"Every time I come, this town is unchanged. Most of them think myself strange." Zecora answered.

"How did you get your mane like that?" Lilac asked. "Cause I remember Great Grandpa had a funny mane that was falling apart but yours is all up." The girl cheered, pushing my mane onto my face.

"Lilac, I love you but could you get off my head? I need to see." I told her gently.

"Oops, sorry Mommy." Lilac said before climbing off my back. I used a small spell to fix my mane back to the way it was earlier. Such a great spell to use on mornings.

Zecora merrily laughed, her real eyes brightening. "My mane is this way because it's the way I like, same for you and your spikes."

Lilac laughed. "That awesome! How do you do that rhyming thing? How come you wearing so much gold jewelry? Did you always have an earring? Is it weird living in the Everfree Forest-"

"Lilac, remember what I told you about asking too many questions?" I gently chided, looking the dragon in the face. "If you ask too many questions, ponies won't be able to answer them all."

"Sorry Ms. Zecora." Lilac said, kicking the dirt a little. "I forgetted."

Zecora and I chuckled. She was precious. I looked back at Zecora. "So, Zecora, would it be too much trouble if I went back to your hut? I think it would be cool of Lilac to see it. I have been thinking about showing her other cultures." That wasn't _entirely_ a lie.

The shaman nodded, lifting her hood back up. "Of course, Raspberry it would be my honor to show my home to your daughter."

For some reason, I blushed. Lilac is my daughter, yet I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't want to bring a little kid into my life. Darcy was an exception. She was blood, Lilac isn't.

Taking a glance back at the bakery, I saw Apple Bloom sneaking out.

"Great! Let's be on our way."

* * *

It was a ten minute walk back to Forest. Nothing had really happened except Lilac constantly digging her claws in my back in excitement. It wasn't too hard to see Apple Bloom as she followed the three of us inside.

Zecora and I were silent. Me because I hated small talk, and her because… I don't know why. Maybe the same. Lilac was the only one making noise, and she just kept humming _On My Way_. Don't know how she knew it, but ah well.

Once inside the forest, it took five minutes to reach a path of poison joke. Lilac was skipping ahead of us so she nearly jumped into them.

"Watch out for the leaves of blue! There is no telling what they would do!" Zecora warned Lilac. The dragon stopped, taking some cautious steps around the blue flowers. I did too.

"Apple Bloom!" A southern voice yelled.

All of us turned, seeing six ponies walking into the patch of Poison Joke. "Yah get back here right now!"

"Beware! Beware you pony folk!" Zecora called out.

"Those leaves of blue are not a joke!" I added.

Applejack glared, running up to Apple Bloom had placing the little filly onto her orange head. "Keep yer crazy mumba jumba to yerselves ya hear!" The others gave their agreements.

"It's not ' _crazy mumba jumba_ '! It's a legitimate warning!" I yelled, noticing a fog starting to form.

"Beware! Beware!" Zecora said before disappearing into the fog.

"Yeah! Back at ya Zecora! You and your lame...curse are the ones who should beware!"

"Zecora!" I called out. The zebra was lost in the fog and I couldn't find her. I angrily turned back to the six mares. "Great! You scared her off!"

Rainbow Dash glared. "Yeah, we did! You're lucky we found you guys before she put some kind curse on you!"

"Lucky?! Zecora was taking Lilac and me to her hut! Being neighborly! You know, a nice thing to do!" I gestured at Apple Bloom. "Be mad at her! She followed us in here, nearly running into the P-plant thing Zecora warned us of." I corrected, remembering she hadn't told us the name of the plant.

"Stop sayin' 'er name!" Applejack yelled.

"Why? Will she appear if I call her name three times? Zecora, Zecora, Zecora!" I taunted. I made a fake face of fear. "Oh! Wait! Am I cursed now? Oh no!"

Lilac poked my shoulder. "Mommy, you're not being very nice."

I gave her a surprised look, mostly that she was still standing next to me and not running off. Then I remembered she liked zebras. "Sorry."

"Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora coulda put on you, especially you Apple Bloom!" Applejack said.

I gasped. "Hey! What about me and Lilac? Not to say she would've put a curse on us, but why don't you care?" I asked Applejack.

"Because Apple Bloom is mah little sister, and Ah'm her big sister. She shoulda stayed at Sugarcube Corner!"

Rainbow flew up to me, her wings brushing against some flowers as she did. "And we saw you two talking to her!"

I rolled my amber eyes. "Great. First you say digging at the ground is creeping, then coming into town, now talking to her like a civilized pony is bad?! When will it end!"

"How did you know we said that!" Twilight shouted.

I mentally slapped myself. Morgan you dumbass! "Uhh…Rule Four." Twilight growled.

"Mommy says that means she knows everything!" Lilac cheered.

"She does?!" Pinkie gasped.

"No! That's not even possible. Nopony can know everything." Twilight explained to the pink pony.

"And yet, you all are saying curses are." I told Twilight, giving Twilight a smug smirk.

"Curses are not real either." Twilight said, glaring at me with her deep purple eyes.

Rainbow, who since rushing at me and decided to swim in the flowers, decided to add input. "Says Ms. Magic Pants herself." That last bit came with a tap to the purple unicorn's horn.

Twilight held her head up high and began speaking in her teacher voice. "My magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations. All smoke and mirrors meant to scare. They're all just a ponytale."

By the time she finished all her friends were walking off.

"Just ya wait Twilight, yer gonna learn that some ponytales really are true." Applejack said as she walked off.

Twilight was standing there confused, even as Lilac and I walked around her to get back out of the Forest.

* * *

By the time I got up the next morning, I felt great. I had told Killjoy about my discovery about our heritage, and she laughed. Then, she asked when we were going home. I told her that we wouldn't be going anywhere until I learned a pain remover spell. She told me to move my ass and find the spell or she would cut it off.

Darcy needed something dead by her hooves. It would be me if I didn't find it by the end of tonight.

Once the death threat was given, Darcy asked where the poison joke was. She had a great idea for a prank.

So, I got up off my bed to get myself ready. A few self help spells later, packing up my saddlebag with things I might need (jars, pens, camera, and notebook) and I was out the door.

It took me ten minutes to get to the library. I knew that soon the other five would come and ten the library would be empty, also that I told Zecora I was gonna help make the cure.

Curse me and my need to do good!

The library appeared to be open, the sign said open, and lights were on so I went in. It _was_ a public library.

I stepped in, and was pleased with what I saw inside.

Twilight was running from shelf to shelf, pulling books of by hoof and searching they them as fast as she could. Since the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight organized the library in her own way. By type, author and the Dewey system. It took me a minute to find _Supernaturals_ , making sure to avoid the books Twilight was throwing about.

"Ah, there it is." I said, pulling out the green book with my magic. Taking my pen and notebook out I started searching for the cure for Poison Joke. "Huh, that seems easy enough."

"Who's there?!" Twilight yelled.

"Just a ghost, carry on Sparkle of Twilight." I said absently mindedly, looking thru the green book for more things. They had a section for seaponies in here!

"Oh good. I thought that- wait WHAT!?" The librarian ran over to where I was and glared. I smiled and waved as innocently as I could. Noticing her horn, I suppressed the urge to take a picture.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Twilight growled.

"Research. Are you trying to hinder my studies, Sparkle of Twilight?" I laughed, using my now favorite nickname for Twilight.

The student raised a brow.

"What? I am doing research!" Lifting my notebook, I practically shoved it in the unicorn's purple face. "Just finished half of it. Now I just need to find a spell for something completely non sequitur to this half of the research or my roommate will apply physical harm to my body."

Hopping up, I went over to the medical book section.

"As you were." I reminded Twilight.

"Didn't you notice my horn?!" Twilight shouted.

"Yep." I commented.

The mare looked confused. "Don't you think it's… strange?"

"Nah. I've seen weirder."

I heard the sounds of her horn moving about. It was funny, but I suppressed a laugh. "Weirder than this?"

"Ever see a giant flying pepper shaker wielding a toilet plunger and a whisk, a single light up eye stalk, and a weird pink mass inside it, all with the urge to _'Exterminate_ ' every living thing?" I asked.

A beat. "No." Twilight said, sounding unsure.

"Good." Skipping away, I looked for the medical book I would need.

I began searching through all the books I saw on medical spells. One had to have a spell that would help. That's all I needed, just one of those Annie's the tic. No. That's not it. Any stitch quette. No, that's worse. Anesthetic! That's the one!

Wow, I'm a special kind of stupid.

Spells on hair re-growth. No. Spells on x-rays. No. Heart rate checker. Blood pressure. Respiratory systems. Tick removal. Disease checks. CPR spells.

Wow. None on anesthetics yet.

Wait… surgery related spells. This has to be it! Head trauma…hoof trauma…yes…yes there it-

*BANG* *CRASH*

"Gah!" I screamed at the sudden crash to the wall near the entrance to the library.

Another crash let Rainbow Dash in. Her wings going on nonstop. I saw Pinkie Pie with her tongue swollen and polka dotted like Twilight's horn.

"Good golly. Rainbow! What're you doing!" I shouted. Once I got real into my reading, it was lethal to stop me.

Not for me, for _you_.

Rainbow Dash groaned and wheezed, trying to get out of the ladder she had wedged herself in. "You! You and Zecora put a curse on me!"

"I'm afraid I have to agree." A new voice said.

Looking back, I held back the urge to laugh. Rarity, with her everything fit in dreadlocks. A very un-ladylike sound came from Rarity shortly after.

" _Ah hate ta say Ah told ya so, Twilight, but Ah told ya so!"_ A very, very, very, _very_ small Applejack said atop a regular sized Apple Bloom.

*click*

"What was that?" Spike asked.

"Nothing," I lied, placing my camera back into my saddlebag.

" _It's a curse Ah tells ya!"_ Applejack yelled... I think.

Twilight and Spike both looked scared/terrified/confused. Twilight took a look at Fluttershy.

"But Fluttershy seems just fine!" Twilight pointed out.

"Yes. There doesn't seem to be a _thing_ wrong with her." Rarity added.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked in a kind caring tone. The pegasus looked away. "Is there something wrong with you?" The pegasus nodded. "Would you care to tell us?" The kind voice vanished. "So you're not gonna tell us?" Fluttershy nodded.

"Did something happen to your voice?" I interjected.

The caretaker looked surprised, but nodded.

"Oh. Okay."

" _Dagnabbit girl! Just tell us what's wrong with ya!"_ Applejack yelled.

" **I don't wanna talk about it."** Fluttershy said.

"Woah." Twilight said.

"AJ, I had just asked her about her voice!" I scolded the little pony.

"Bwahahaha!" Spike laughed. "This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got, _Harity, Rainbow Crash, Spittie Pie, Appleteenie, Flutterguy_ and… uh…I got nothing. Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously. I can't even work with that." Spike shrugged.

Twilight mock laughed. "This is no joke Spike." The floppy unicorn said.

"I think it's all one big joke. Just with only me and Spike laughing. And the rest of Ponyville when they see this." I commented.

Rarity glared at me. "What about you? Why aren't you like this?"

"Because unlike someponies here I don't ignore advice. No matter the pony's race, color or age. Again, unlike someponies here." I said with a glare, looking back at my medical book to see the anesthetic spell.

"See! Ugh. Raspberry admitted Zecora did it!" Rainbow Dash yelled, slowly getting out from the ladder.

I groaned. "I did not! You just twisted my words to fit your own theory, an incorrect one I add. Word to the wise, Rainbow, start twisting theories to suit facts instead of twisting facts to suit theories."

Rainbow raised a brow, her pink eyes filled with confusion. "Why are you talking like an egghead?"

"Reading a medical book. Smartness is filling my brain."

"Does it have a cure for…this?" Twilight asked.

"Nope. But _Supernaturals_ might." I said, motioning towards the green book. Taking another glance at the medical book, I wrote down the anesthetic spell and placed the book back. "Whelp, I'm done with research. Have a good joke filled day!"

Walking towards the door, I saw Rainbow try to get in my way.

"Hold up! Woah! You need to tell us what you and wish Zecora did to us!"

*crash*

*pop*

I teleported out of the library, not wanting Rainbow Dash to crash into me.

Operation Cure is a go.

* * *

Okay. The ingredient listing is such. Hooffulls of baking soda, water, aloe, lemon juice, lavender and some acorns. Sounds easy enough.

Trotting towards Zecora's hut, I picked up fallen acorns in case they were the kind I needed. Soon enough, her hut came into view again.

*knock* *knock* *knock* *knock*

The door was soon opened, revealing an unclothed Zecora. "Oh, Raspberry. I take it I should expect more company?" I nodded.

"I found some acorns, just in case they were the kind needed. Is this good?" I showed the zebra my saddlebag and the collected acorns.

"Yes, they will do just fine. Come in, we have not much time." Zecora said, letting me into the hut just as a little yellow filly ran up to us.

Apple Bloom stared at us in confusion and bits of fear. Her white saddlebags were at her sides. She was standing there with a shocked expression in her face.

"Well, come on! It's not like we're gonna bite! That's my sister's thing." I joked. Apple Bloom, still unsure, slowly began trotting over.

"Ah, so this is the brave filly. Tell me, where is your family?" Zecora asked, leaning down towards the earth pony.

Apple Bloom gulped. "A-Ah wanna show mah sister Ah can handle mahself."

"We're not saying you can't." I said, levitating the acorns from my saddlebags to give to Zecora. The shaman placed them into her cauldron and began adding the liquids to it. "But last I saw your sister she was three inches tall."

Apple Bloom rubbed her yellow hoof on her foreleg. "Ah left her on a branch."

"It took a lot of guts to do that. Pfft, if my little sister did that to me. I think I might've punched her." Apple Bloom gasped. Not a good thing to say in front of a little kid. I did my best to correct the situation. "What I have with my sister is very…" Don't say physical. Darcy will laugh at you. "…violent. What you have with Applejack is way better."

Apple Bloom still looked unnerved. Zecora spoke, stopping the awkward silence. "Little filly, I need you to get something for me. It is off in the Everfree." The redhead nodded. "Go and find the plant known as aloe. It should cure your sister and her friends in one go."

"One go of what?" Apple Bloom asked.

"The cure is mostly a bubble bath mixed with certain herbs. The problem with the others is the blue plant the practically played in yesterday. It's called Poison Joke."

"It is like the dreaded Poison Oak, but it's effects are like a joke!" Zecora added.

I nodded. "All we need is to get the ingredients and we're good to go."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Uhh…what's _'aloe'_?"

"Think wheat, but a green stalk and an orange top. Got it?" Bloom nodded slowly as the image came to her. "Okay. Be back in twenty minutes, I think that's how long it will take for the others to notice you two are gone."

The farmer filly nodded. She ran out of the hut and into the woods.

Turning back to Zecora, I felt a strange feeling in my chest. It was kinda familiar. Where had I felt it before? When I tried focusing, I kept thinking about Darcy. Especially when I first met her.

"Alright," I said, putting the feeling aside, "let's get started."

* * *

Zecora and I were putting finishing touches on the cure. It needed to be heated, can't have a cold cure after all. The shaman had stepped out a moment ago to get some berries that would help.

I was tending to the cauldron. It was bright green, thick and bubbling. Steam was building up from the top as I checked the recipe in Supernaturals to see when it would be safe to use.

My new friend walked in, a jar in her muzzle. She poured it's contents into the cauldron.

Zecora started speaking in some strange language. I think it was a pony form Swahili or maybe Afrikaans. Zebricaans?

"Is it ready Zecora?" I told Zecora. The black and white mare nodded.

Zecora sniffed it. "Mmm, the perfect temperature for ponies, I presume."

"Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?" I asked, making Zecora chuckled as I completed her rhyme/stole her line.

After a moment, the two of is heard screaming outside. Another moment and the door was slammed open by an upside down Rainbow Dash being bridled by a tiny Applejack.

Zecora started speaking in some strange language, I couldn't tell which of the two it was so I went for my best bet.

"Wat de fok is jy meisies doen?!" I shouted in Afrikaans. The two kept on crashing about, smashing bottles and various other things. "Jy is te bemors die plek! Stop're gaan breek nie! Applejack, Rainbow Dash! Staan stil!"

Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity came in next.

"What have you done with Apple Bloom?" Twilight questioned.

"No! No!" Zecora shouted.

"Twilight, kan jy daardie twee stop! Self hulle gaan seerkry!" I yelled. I'm glad I learned this language. It was fun to shout. Wish I had better circumstances to try it out.

Applejack lassoed Zecora's ear and gripped onto it, attacking it like it was a timberwolf. Rainbow Dash was left free.

"Ponies, what is this you-" Zecora asked as Rainbow crashed into the cauldron and poured it's contents out onto Zecora clean floor.

"Die genesing!" I cried out.

"No! No! You know not what you do!" Zecora told them.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to make that?!" I scolded the six crazed ponies.

"We're onto you two. I didn't want to believe you two cursed us, but-"

" Jy gemaal idiote net asblik Zecora se hut! Al hierdie, omdat jy dink dat ons jou vervloek! Ek het gedink jy was slimmer as wat Twilight! Dit is net plain skande. Kyk na hierdie fokken gemors!" I shouted, still in Afrikaans.

The six of them stared at me, trying to figure out what I just said.

"Huh?"

I groaned. "This is by far the stupidest thing I have seen any of you do!"

Twilight pointed an accusing hoof at Zecora. "The evidence is overwhelming of you two doing this!"

"What? Name one thing!"

"Her home, that strange language you both were speaking, that Apple Bloom soup-" Twilight started.

" _APPLE BLOOM SOUP_?!" I screamed. "I get the house, it is kinda creepy. No offense. I get the language, but… eating other ponies?! Really!? Applejack is still wrestling Zecora's ear for Celestia's sakes!"

The mares were starting to look a little afraid as I ranted. I took a calming breath so I didn't get violent.

"Zecora, Raspberry, Ah think Ah found all the stuff ya asked fer." Apple Bloom said as she walked in. "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?" She asked, her voice pitching.

My rant was forgotten, the joy of seeing an alive Apple Bloom was at the forefront of everypony's minds.

" _Apple Bloom!"_ Applejack called out from Zecora's ear. _"Yer okay!"_

"Why wouldn't Ah be?" The filly asked innocently.

Twilight went over to the filly, making a protective stance.

"Cause Zecora is an evil enchantress and Raspberry is her hench pony-"

"I. Am. Not. A. Hench. Pony." I growled.

"-cursed us and was gonna turn you into soup!" Twilight yelled, ignoring me.

Apple Bloom laughed. I did too, if only to calm myself down and not kill anyone. That was Killjoy's thing.

"Oh Twilight! Did those thingys finally get inside yer head? There's no such thing as a curse." Apple Bloom said.

"A curse implies the use of dark magic, such as necromancy or mind-control, as well as the use of living blood and one's on heart." I said. I stopped Twilight before she could speak again. "What's happening to you can be explain by simple means. A curse is not one of them."

"If you remember back those words I spoke were quite exact." Zecora said as Apple Bloom walked towards us, past the line of crazy ponies.

"It was a warnin'." Apple Bloom explained. "About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke."

"That plant is much like poison oak, but it's results are like a joke!" Zecora added.

" _What in the hay does that mean?_ " Applejack asked.

"It means that when you all decided to play in the flowers, instead of listen to some darn good advice, the plant decided to play pranks on you. Rainbow, it messed with your wings. Rarity, it messed with your hair. Fluttershy, it messed with you voice. Pinkie, your tongue. Twilight, your magic. And Applejack, it made you the little sister." I explained.

"Okay…" Rainbow said. "But what about the cauldron?"

" **And the chanting?"**

"And the creepy decór."

"Creepy _destroyed_ decór." I added.

"Treasures of the native land where I am from. This one speaks _'hello'_ and this _'welcome'_." Zecora explained.

"Not welcome at all, if you ask me." Rarity commented.

"You just helped trash her house. You don't get an opinion." I told her.

"The words I chanted were from Olden times. Something you call a 'nursery rhyme'." Zecora explained.

"The cauldron wasn't Apple Bloom soup. It was the cure for Poison Joke. A simple herbal bubble bath." I lifted up Zecora's copy of Supernaturals and pushed it in Twilight Sparkle. "This book look familiar Sparkle of Twilight?"

Twilight read the cover, slowly.

"Here is the book you see, such a shame you don't have it in the library." I said, lowering it and angrily looking at Twilight. "Or do you? But refused to read it because of it's strange title."

Twilight nodded, looking over at Zecora. "I-I'm so sorry Zecora. I had the answer all this time."

The zebra nodded. "Maybe next time you will take a second look and not judge the cover of a book."

Apple Bloom giggled, I smirked and sighed.

"But wait, Raspberry, what was that language you were speaking?" Twilight asked.

I opened my mouth to speak. "Zebrakaans, a language from where I onced hail. It seems Raspberry Stardust has roots there as well."

I nodded. "My grandpa, Zanu, was a zebra. Spoke it all the time in his visits with Grandma Medical Wing." I laughed. "Especially when the stove wasn't working or his stubbed his hoof." How did I know that? Stupid phantom memories. "Sorry about what I said earlier mares. I just… had to grow up with ponies hating my dad (he got Grandpa's stripes) and my family because of how we looked. Hope you can forgive me."

They all nodded.

"Zecora, Raspberry, would you be kind enough to whip up another batch of bubble bath?" Twilight asked, her horn making noises as it wobbled atop her head.

"Fix it up, we certainly will."

"Yet we are missing an herb from Ponyville." I finished.

"But whenever Zecora comes to town all the shops are mysteriously closed." Apple Bloom added.

"Oh, well. I think we can help you with that." Twilight smirked.

* * *

One hour later, the cure was made and we asked Aloe and Lotus to let us use the spa bath. The girls were all bathing and slowly we noticed the strange things about them were going away.

I took another picture, one of all of them laughing with Applejack and her crushed cup. It was good. Placing the camera away, I began walking away.

"Hey."

I turned back and saw everypony looking at me.

Rainbow Dash smirked, using her wings. "Where are you going?"

"Uh…home?" I said.

"No, yer not." Applejack said, hopping out of the cup and towards me.

"Okay. I give. Where am I going?" I asked.

Rarity smiled at me. "Over here, darling."

"Why?" I asked.

Pinkie hopped out. "Because you helped make the cure! Even though we were being so mean about it. And to your Grandma Wanu!"

"Grandpa." I corrected. "Grandpa Zanu."

Pinkie kept on smiling.

"And… umm… you could tell us…about your family...if it's not too much trouble." Fluttershy asked.

They…actually wanted to talk to me about my family? Not how rude I was to them? Or other stuff? "Actually, I have one thing I want to talk about." I said.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Applejack," I said, turning to the orange earth pony. "During Applebuck season, what happened to you near the end?"

Applejack's leaf green eyes gazed at me in confusion. "Uh…Ah was buckin' trees when a pony came up 'n asked me somethin'."

"What did she ask?"

"' _Does this rag smell like chloroform?'_ " Applejack answered.

"What did she look like?"

"A dark red pegasus with a straight silver mane. Why?" Applejack asked.

I pointed at Twilight and laughed. "See! I told you I didn't drug Applejack!"

She laughed, same for Zecora. The others slowly joined in.

* * *

The day was nearly done. I was walking home when I ran into Killjoy and Lilac.

"Now, where are you sending those?" Killjoy asked.

"To Ms. Rainbow Dash's house." Lilac answered.

"Good, now get to it!"

"Hey. Are you using Lilac as a fax machine…again?" I asked, getting a good look at what was going on.

Lilac was holding a burlap sack while Killjoy just gave me an innocent look. "No."

"Liar." I accused. Lilac laughed. "Oh. I found the spell you wanted." I told Killjoy, whose face lightened up.

"So..."

"Yes. That means you can go on that trip." I told the pegasus, who instantly hugged Lilac in excitement.

Happily, the sack opened into my twin sister.

"Gah!"

"Bwahahaha!" Lilac and I laughed.

"Shut up you jerks!" Killjoy said, brushing off the blue plants.

* * *

Zecora looked around the crushed remains of her hut. She would need to sweep those up and then buy more bottles. It was going to be an interesting trip.

The zebra walked into her bedroom, the only room unaffected by today's events. Slowly, she search the room for a photograph she had brought with her from her homeland.

Lifting it up, Zecora smiled at the memories it brought back.

It was of a male zebra and chocolate brown female pegasus. The pegasus had a cutiemark of a stethoscope, her eyes were the same brown as her coat and her mane was the same brown with dark green stripes. The zebra had ocean blue eyes, black and white stripes, a symbol for healing on his rump, and his striped mane was cut very short but otherwise looked like a mohawk.

The pegasus held something in her hooves. It was a small bundle, wrapped in blue. It was a foal with the same fur as the mare, part of his small mane was brown but it had silver stripes. His body was adorned in various black zebra stripes. His closed eyes would reveal deep forest green.

Zecora smiled. "So, Uncle Zanu, even after all this time you find ways to surprise. I should have known she was yours by that look in her eyes."


	10. Back To Life

The two of us awakened slowly. Apparently, I had been placed on the floor…again. I rubbed my eyes with my hands. Felt good to say that.

"Ah…fingers, how I have missed you so." Darcy said from my bed. "Oh, the things we can do."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing into a piece of furniture to lift myself up. It was a strange feeling, like I was sleeping on the ground. "Told you it would work." I laughed, cracking some of my locked joints.

Darcy was doing the same. "It feels great to be a person again. How long will I be like this? I miss flying already!" She groaned.

I raised a brow. "You want to go back _that_ quickly?"

"What? No! I just want to fly. Can I go back to being a witch?" Darcy asked, her puppy dog eyes showing.

"No." I said. "I need some time to recharge. It's hard lugging your ass around the TV screens ya know."

Darcy laughed. "Great, so how long til I can fly?"

I thought it over. I would need some supplies, need to do some more research on the show, maybe watch the new episode, do my homework and some chores, get the film developed from the camera, create a game plan, keep Darcy away from my family with minimal damage. How long would it take for me to do that on my teenage schedule?

"A week." I answered. Darcy grinned.

"Joy!" She cheered. "I have a week of fun!"

I laughed, slapping her arm. "Good for you."

My twin stood up, walking over to my closet where she had kept most of her things. "Your wallet is in your back skinny jean pocket, lucky knife is right next to wear you materialized, painted sneakers are at the bottom of the closet."

"You know me so well." Darcy said, smiling almost mockingly.

"We've been sisters for almost forty years. How could I not know you?" I asked her, walking towards my laptop to figure out what homework I had.

"Limits?"

"If you murder, make it quiet. If you have sex, try to withhold your fetish of killing the guy-"

"Or girl." Darcy winked. "There's still time to admit you-"

" _Hahaha_. Shut up. I think you might have to refresh your fake ID, it says your 24.

"I'm 36, that's low balling. And your 192, fifteen is _Low Balling Extreme!_ " Darcy mocked, putting on her red sneakers with her initials painted on the sides in royal purple. She liked painting on things paint didn't belong on.

"Good point. Also, stop mentioning my age!" I ordered. Damn it, I had three math lessons to do.

"Anything else?"

"If you go to Longhorn Steakhouse, Sticky Fingers, TGIF, or any other place with rips, keep it clean. It's getting hard to come with excuses as to why there are steak sauce stains on your clothes, and for trying to say they're my clothes." I said. Crap, I have an English assignment due Monday. It's Thursday, so that's good I think. Chemistry project due...today. History...good. Spanish 2...a little behind.

I'm good with school!

"Well, I'll be off." Darcy said, walking towards my door.

"Wait!" I nearly screamed, running up and blocking her from leaving.

Her eyes wide were in anger, confusion and shock. "Gah! Morgue!" It slowly faded into annoyance. "Rule 22-"

"Never let Darcy be seen when the parents are home!" I whispered harshly.

Slowly, I opened my door and checked the hall. Derek's door was closed, Terence's was too, Mom and Dad's was wide open. I took a cautionary sniff. Mom made dinner; fried rice.

"There having dinner. You're gonna wanna take the window route." I suggested.

Darcy groaned, walking towards one of my windows as I took out the rope ladder. "You can't keep me a secret forever. They're gonna find out eventually."

Turning to her, I gave her a sad look. I knew that Mom and Dad would find out sooner or later, I preferred if Future Morgan dealt with it. It's gonna be her problem.

"You can't give it to Future Morgan forever." Darcy said, almost reading my thoughts. "Soon you'll be Future Morgan."

"Then I'll blame Past Morgan. Future Morgan gets all the problem while we just coast, leaving almost carefree with only your identity being the big issue." I said, my words sure. I tossed Darcy the ladder.

The girl rolled her eyes, opening the blinds and window. She placed the ladder so it wouldn't let her fall and let it fall. It made a thud. I freaked out for a moment, but the parents didn't make any noise as to check it out. I gave Darcy a wave as she climbed down.

"Don't die." I told her as she went down a few steps.

She looked up at me, purple eyes smirking in her usual proud way. "You can't get rid of me this easily."

I laughed, not leaving my window until Darcy was a speck in the distance.

Now, for the fun part.

* * *

 _When Jumping, it is important to remember these steps:_

 _Step 1. No loose ends. Know everything you can know about everyone. Did they get arrested? What family do they have? Any canon shipping relationships? Do_ you _have any family that could endanger any missions? Once all this is done, you have completed Step One._

 _Step 2. What are you planning to do? Example- Police investigation, do you immediately find the killer for the police? Will you stand on the sidelines, giving occasional hints as to the killer's identity? Or, will you stand with the main characters and play an active part in the investigation? Once you have figured out your game plan for that episode/movie/chapter, then you have completed Step Two._

 _Step 3. Supplies. What do you need? Is there some sickness that requires specific ingredients? Is there a time when you want an ending to go another way, what do you need for it? Get it! Would you like to stop your favorite character from being stupid? Get whatever you need! Need a rocket? Get it! Once you have all you need, you have completed Step Three._

 _Step 4. Never. Get. Caught. If they find out you know too much, you could end up like_ _Cassia_ _Tiponi (AN: From a book called Inhuman by Danielle Q. Lee). Don't end up like Cassia Tiponi. Call Direct- Wait, getting off track._

 _*Ahem*. Secrecy is the most important thing in this game. If you use a fake name, never have your real name be known. Ever. Once you are sure of this, you have completed Step Four._

 _Step 5: Have fun!_

 _Those are the steps. Use them. They are your life. Everything you would ever need is in those steps. Good luck, may the Story help you prosper._

* * *

 _Day Three: Saturday Morning_

" _Yeah, I knew everything was gonna be fine!" Spike said as the Friendship Express rode off towards Ponyville, Twilight's eyes rolling._

Taking down the last bits of notes, my eyes went back and forth from the TV screen to my clipboard. My shopping list was nearly finished. I would need a new audio recorder, that song they did earlier about the Crystal Empire was kinda cool. A video camera would be good for when AJ and Rarity are trying to protect the _'Crystal Heart'_ too.

Now, I think I have some good ideas for the other episodes. I had a mini-marathon last night of the two season and the premiere of this one. My brain felt a little fried, but it did not matter. I still had some things to do and get. It was good that Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza got another episode. I liked them. It would be cool to be friends with them, would have to get rid of Darcy though. The last thing I need is for her to ruin a first impression...again.

' _So what we get drunk, so what we smoke weed-'_

"Gah!" Speak of the devil.

 _We're just havin' fun, we don't care who sees. So what we go out? That's how it's supposed ta be! Livin' young 'n wild 'n free!'_

Picking up my phone, I saw Darcy's photo appear on the screen. It was of her on Halloween dressed as Jason. I was next to her dressed as Perizada. My official favorite Fae.

I clicked the green button and heard my sister's cheery voice. _"Hey! What's up Morgue?"_

"What did you do?"

" _What makes you think I did something?"_

A beat.

" _Okay. I need some help."_

"Dead body?"

" _Not this time._ " Darcy whined. _"I_ may _have stolen a car."_

"Model?"

" _I don't know. A Chev maybe? The one with four rings."_

"Audi."

" _That one!"_ Darcy said triumphantly.

"Witnesses?"

" _None."_

"Return it. I'm still working Recon and my dad is breathing down my neck about those late math lessons." I said, placing my checklist aside and heading out of my room for something to eat.

" _What? Morgue, you've taken Geometry five times already! Can't you just do the whole book or something?"_ Darcy groaned.

"No, too suspicious. I already have the second highest score in my class."

" _Does Terence have first?"_ Darcy laughed. _"How old is he? Eleven?"_

"Shut up." I kept from swearing as I walked past my parent's room.

My sister laughed. _"Okay. I'll return the car, but only if we get to go someplace together. Like, the movies or something."_

I shrugged, walking into my kitchen and grabbing an apple. Were these still fresh? "Kay. That movie _Sinister_ is out. We can go see that."

" _Awesome! Pick you up in thirty."_

"In the sto-" click. "Ugh. She's picking me up in a stolen car."

"What?" My little brother, Terence, asked.

"Nothing." I lied, taking a bite from the apple and running up to my room to avoid further questioning.

Staring at the apple, I couldn't help but think about Lilac. That cute little dragon. She liked apples, bananas too. The girl loved banana nut muffins, it was weird.

She felt like family, really, but I was still unsure about the whole thing. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want kids someday, but I'm sixteen going on seventeen. How was I going to raise Lilac? How would it explain what I am to her? Would I bring her Home and tell her? Would I stay in Ponyville to explain it?

Maybe I'm overthinking it. I think I'll just wait it out, let it happen on it's own. She's a smart girl, she'll figure it out.

Yeah. I know, bad plan. Future Morgan's problem.

* * *

 _Day Five. Monday Afternoon_

"That'll be" tap. tap. tap. "$36.50"

"Thanks." I said, taking the supply bag from the store clerk and walking toward my waving sister.

Darcy smiled. Her outfit today was a black top with a picture of Jason on the front. Her usual jeans went down to her black cargo boots.

"So, what did ya get?" Darcy asked.

"Disposable cameras, a dark red blanket, bug repellant, an umbrella hat, and some more clear nail polish for you to use as you please."

"Eeeh!" Darcy squealed, reaching into the bag and pulling out the small tub of polish. "You _do_ care."

"As much as you do." I mocked.

Once school had ended, I told my parents I was walking home. The boys had a basketball game so I would be alone for the night. I spent this time with Darcy.

She looked around, noticing various people and their large shopping bags. "Why Town Center?"

"Because you got banned from the mall in Charleston." I said, playing a game on my iPhone.

"Pfft. That guy was asking for it."

"No, he asked you to stop. Repeatedly."

"He kept hitting on me."

"So you hit him?"

"Yeah. Eye for an eye, rules of the streets." Darcy said, smirking and leaning back in her chair.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Darcy was insane.

* * *

 _Day Eight. Thursday Night._

"Are you finished yet?!" Darcy shouted. "I've run out of places to break into!"

"No. I'm not done. So shut up." I said, finishing up the order on Amazon for the devices I needed. I ducked, avoiding the pillow Darcy threw at my head.

"I want to fly again! Prank Rainbow Dash! Why do I miss that girly place so much!?"

"Because you could write off pranks as magic and everypony would believe you."

"Yeah! Take me back there! NOW!"

"DARCY ELIZABETH ANDERSON, SHUT UP!" I scolded. "I have a system, it works. I'm working on the last bit, which just happens to be recording devices (audio and visual) so you can record what happens to Rainbow Dash and what she says. Happy?" I turned my laptop screen to face my straight haired twin.

She eyed the screen warily. Darce looked back and forth from the screen to me, trying to decide if she liked it. "For now."

Placing the laptop back on my lap, I sent out the order form and shut it all down.

"There, now we can go back."

"Whoopie!" Darcy cheered, making me wondered why she was so excited to go back. She hated Equestria. Why the sudden interest?

"Alright." Grabbing the remote and putting that train of thought on hold, I pulled up an episode of _My Little Pony_.

"I still have one question." Darcy said as I grabbed my supply bag.

"What?"

"Why the bug repellant?"

Yes. I didn't tell her about the parasprites. No, I wasn't going to tell her before they showed up. "Mosquitos. They kept biting me the whole time we were there." I lied.

Darcy laughed. "Don't worry about that repellant, your personality is enough."

"I'll just send them to you."

"My blood will be too awesome, they'll die like that." Darcy said, snapping.

I gave a laugh as I pressed play, gripping Darcy's hand as my vision filled with white.


	11. Birth of the CMC

Cheerilee has seen many things in her years as a teacher. She's seen every exploding volcano project, magical burst, note sharing, every excuse for late homework, the day becoming everlasting night, an Ursa Minor rampaging into town, a zebra living in the Everfree Forest, a large dragon snoozing near Ponyville, a strange Winter Wrap Up and an invasion of strange little creatures that nearly ate Ponyville.

But this, this was a first.

Across from her desk stood two figures. A pink unicorn with a curly midnight blue mane with sterling silver streaks, amber eyes, and a cutiemark of an open book with a blue and silver jump rope around it.

The second was a dragon.

A small purple dragon.

A small purple dragon with blue scales.

A small purple dragon with blue scales that was applying to go to school.

Her school.

Cheerilee smiled at Raspberry Stardust. "Excuse me, I must've misheard. What did you say?"

The unicorn just smiled. "I want to enroll Lilac in your school."

The mauve earth pony smiled, still unsure. "Could you explain as to why you wish to enroll Lilac?"

Raspberry nodded. "Yep. I want Lilac to get a good education and I'm not sure I can do that. My life is very hectic as of late, what with the move and my sister staying with us, so I decided to take Lilac to school. Is that some kind of problem?"

Cheerilee kept on smiling, stepping off her chair. "Well, no. But aren't you worried about her wellbeing?"

Raspberry nodded. "Lilac, what did I tell you about bullies?"

The dragon replied with earnest. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will leave fighty soft-

"Philosophical" Raspberry interjected.

"-philosophical wounds that will never heal!" Lilac cheered, her fanged smile showing..

The unicorn gave a look to Cheerilee. "So, are we good?"

Cheerilee, without any other strange questions, nodded. "Yes. Lilac can start first thing tomorrow."

The two in front of Cheerilee cheered, high hoofing/clawing before calming down. Raspberry's horn glowed amber, revealing a paper placed in her saddlebag.

"I also noticed in the Ponyville Gazette that you had a job opening?" Raspberry said, revealing the job wanted section with one such ad circled in red. The job was asking for anypony who was good at telling stories, fables, myths, or other such stories.

Cheerilee nodded. "Yes, because of all the strange events recently, my storyteller quit."

Raspberry nodded. "Would it be at all possible if I could have the job? I have been looking for one as of late."

Cheerilee raised a brow, her lime green eyes curious. "Are you good?"

"On some days, other days the villain way of life is very appealing." Raspberry joked. "But, I have had some good reviews on my storytelling."

The teacher nodded. "Great. When can you start?"

"Monday!" Raspberry suggested.

"Alright, you'll only be needed Monday, Wednesday and Friday." Cheerilee explained to the excited mare. "Tuesdays and Thursday are free." Raspberry nodded. "Also, some of them will be filled with all-day Field Trips, school holidays, and possibly an assembly. I'll let you know when you get here if any such events have taken place."

"A-okay!" Raspberry cheered.

"You'll get paid 30 bits a day, 20 if you get cancelled. Is that alright?"

"Perfect!"

"Alright." Cheerilee said, lifting up the necessary paperwork from a drawer in her desk. "Welcome to the school, Lilac and Ms. Raspberry."

Raspberry waved a hoof. "Please, call me Raspberry."

The maroon earth pony nodded. "Alright, have a nice day Lilac and Raspberry."

"You too Ms. Teacher!" Lilac cheered, hopping down from her seat and running out the classroom door. Raspberry followed soon after.

The teacher smiled, getting started on the paperwork for enrolling Lilac. "It's so nice to see mother's and daughter's so close together."

==DMLB==

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

"See Lilac! I told you I'd get you into school!" I told the little dragon.

Lilac was beaming, it was like a kid on Christmas day! She was skipping along the pathways, giving warm greeting to anypony we passed. It was starting to creep me out, the level of joy she was carrying for a kid about to start school.

The idea to enroll her in school came once Darcy and I got back from Home. I had realized that the next episode was a Cutie Mark Crusader episode, thus I would not be able to do all that I had done with the Mane 6. Darcy was ecstatic when I explained Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to her. She always liked bullies, their hair made nice scarves (her words, not mine).

I had nearly given up on a game plan, when a certain purple dragon walked into my room. Darcy and I had exchanged glances and we both were thinking the same thing. I turned to Lilac and asked her with a straight face _"How would you feel about going to school?"_

Side note: Need more glass from bedroom windows... and mirror.

The job thing came about when I realized we were going to run out of money eventually. When I suggested Darcy go job searching, she groaned. Darcy wasn't one for jobs, assassinations maybe but not jobs. I told her there might be something she liked, and if she didn't find a job by Diamond Tiara's party I was getting her a job at Fluttershy's

That got her searching. Quickly.

I was telling the truth when I said I found the ad in the paper. I had always wanted a job like that. Working with kids, being a storyteller, Darcy was almost always telling me how good I was at telling stories. Might as well give it a shot.

One thing that was ticking at the back of my mind, was what would happen at the party on Tuesday. I was worried what could happen if Lilac somehow ended up with the CMC's. Those fillies are sweet, but...Lilac's a dragon, with claws, and fangs, and magical fire that sends objects to wherever she wants.

We had been testing it. Killjoy liked using my daughter as a fax machine.

I said daughter again didn't I? That's becoming a nasty little habit.

"I knew you would but I was worried 'bout stuff." Lilac said.

"What kinda stuff?" I asked, looking at a nearby window to see if it was a window store. Do they even have those?

Lilac scuffed her feet. "Well, I'm not gonna know anypony...what if they think I'm weird?"

"Weird is just a side effect of awesomeness." I joked, noticing the serious look on her purple face.

Lilac was mature for a four year old. I would like to say Past Raspberry had a hoof in it, but I think it was just her dragon DNA that did that. Sometimes, she acted like a four year old would, but others she would act like she was twenty. It was weird having somebody younger than me act so mature, especially when I usually had Darcy around.

I placed a hoof over her shoulder. "Hey, you remember Applejack's little sister? You met her during Applebuck Season?"

Lilac waited a moment. She nodded.

"She goes to that school too. I'm almost positive you two would make great friends." I encouraged. "And, there's Rarity's little sister, who is sweet as sugar. And that pegasus I see following Rainbow Dash around sometimes." Poking my chin with my hoof, I glanced up and noticed said pegasus zooming across the sky.

*bzzzt*

Crap.

"Look out!" A small voice called out from behind us.

Instead, I turned back and saw a little orange pegasus riding on her scooter. Her magenta eyes widened as the scooter caught closer and closer to Lilac and I. Pushing Lilac out of the path of the scooter and shutting my eyes, I felt a pain in my side as I hit by Scootaloo's scooter.

For some reason, instead of stopping it, the scooter was going faster. Squinting an eye open, I saw the scooter was still going. I turned my head to see an orange pegasus with her magenta mane hidden by a purple helmet driving a scooter,

"Hey." I said casually.

"Uh..." Scootaloo said. "Hey."

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" A random pony called out.

"Oops, I guess this is my fault." I said, realizing I was blocking Scootaloo from seeing. "This next parts gonna be too. Try landing on your hooves."

Scootaloo looked confused. "What?"

Picking the filly up in my magic I tossed her to the side, where she landed on a bush.

"Sorry!" I called out.

Adjusting myself, I placed myself on the back of the scooter with my hooves on the handlebars. Judging from the buildings I'm passing I'm getting close to Town Square. Okay, I hope this goes well.

Using my magic to keep the scooter going, I managed to avoid the passersby and various stands. I called out some sorry's in case I almost hit somepony. It was as I was zooming around a corner that I noticed Rarity.

"Hi Rarity!" I said, zooming away from her before she could give a response.

Focusing back on the road, I saw a bench approaching with Lyra and Bonbon on it.

"Four years in a circus, don't fail me now." I whispered as I pushed up on the scooter. That, and used a spell to helped push me up.

I went over the bench, missing the two mares by a couple inches.

"Sorry about that!" I called back, noticing two figures chasing after me. It was Lilac and Scootaloo!

Quickly turning my eyes back to the front, I noticed various other ponies that I just barely avoided hitting. Off in the distance, I saw a familiar hollow out tree. It didn't look like anypony was in the way, it was gonna be straightforward from here on.

"Mommy!" Lilac shouted from behind me.

I turned back, using magic to keep the board straight. "Hi Lilac!"

"Slow down!" She shouted.

"Can't! Too much momentum! I could break something!" I called back.

"Well then why did you throw me off?!" Scootaloo yelled.

"I made sure you landed on something soft!" False, I assumed she would be landing on grass. "And, it was hard for you to see!"

Their eyes suddenly widened.

"Look out!" They both screamed.

"Why?" I yelled, turning back only to have a wood wall pushed into my face.

*SLAM*

*crash*

*thump* *thump* *thump*

" _Spike?! What was that!"_

" _It came from outside!"_

I fell to the ground with a thud, and little tiny scooters flying about my head. "Hehehe, scooters with wings." I laughed.

"Mommy!" A familiar voice said. I saw in her in my shaky eyesight a second later.

"Hey, you look familiar." I said, the dizziness making my vision fuzzy.

"Raspberry!" Another familiar voice shouted angrily. Her head was entered my eyesight too. Two purple shapes above my head, both with midnight blue on their head, which one was Twilight?

"Hey, have I seen you before?"

One of the heads looked at the second, the second shrugged.

"What happened?" Twilight's voice asked.

"We were walking down the street when Mommy crashed into that filly's scooter."

"Yeah!" That voice was familiar too. Damn, I need to get my head on straight. "And then, she threw me off! We've been chasing this crazy mare for the past five blocks!"

"What?!" Twilight shouted.

I blinked a couple times, trying to get my sense back. Slowly getting up, I noticed the three girls were too focused on their problems to notice me stumble about.

"I'm okay! Thanks for asking." I said, accidentally walking into the tree. "Gah! And I say I'm the smart one of the family." I groaned.

"Raspberry why did you steal this filly's cart!?" Twilight yelled.

After blinking a few times, I was finally able to see straight. The librarian stood before me with a cross look. I blinked hard one more time and saw my surrounding shapren and solidify.

"Because," I answered slowly, making sure I was okay mentally. "If she had stayed on, we may have crashed into something. I was kinda accidentally blocking her sight. So, I tossed her off the scooter and rode off to slow the scooter down. The momentum was too fast for me to just stop it, somepony would've gotten hurt, so I rode it out until I crashed." I nodded, rubbing the sore part of my skull where I crashed into the library. "That's gonna smart in the morning." I said. I motioned towards Scootaloo. "What's your name?"

The pegasus huffed. "Scootaloo."

"Nice ta meet ya Scootaloo. Sorry about your scooter, is it broken?" I asked, looking over Twilight.

"Don't change the subject!" Twilight scolded.

"I'm just making sure I didn't break it. The scooter probably has deep meaning for Scootaloo, I need to know if I have to fix it." I told Twilight, standing myself up only to fall back down. "Okay. No getting up." I shrugged.

Crawling over towards where the scooter landed, I saw the little daredevil lift it up.

"Wow. It's lovely." Lilac said.

It had a plain blue board, bright red wheels and red grips on the handlebar. It had some wear and tear, but overall looked great. It survived the crash at least.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She moved it about, looking all over it.

"The scooter looks fine, no damage done." I said happily. "Can't say the same about myself though." I remembered something. "Hey, did either of you see me jump the board over that bench?"

Scootaloo and Lilac nodded, both suddenly looking ecstatic. "The one with Lyra and Bonbon?"

"That one!" I said.

"That was amazing!" Lilac cheered.

"Yeah! That was totally cool! How did you do that, with no ramp?!" Scootaloo said.

I shrugged, slowly lifting myself up again. "It was kinda easy, you just push up at the right second and whoosh! It's like you're flying!"

"Really?!" Scootaloo nearly shouted.

"Yeah! I've done some cool stunts in my life; jumping over a gorge, skydiving over a pit of fire, twenty-five carriage crashes, eighteen airship crashes, those boat crashes, buildings collapsing, fires, tornados, hurricanes. But, that one was the most spontaneous one I have ever done." I laughed. "I thought I was gonna crash!" I laughed again, a little louder and longer.

Lilac started laughing too. "I thought it was funny!"

Scootaloo gave a small laugh too. "It was kinda funny, but still totally amazing!"

The three of us laughed, until I remembered Twilight behind us. "Sparkle of Twilight, join in on the fun!"

Twilight pretended not to hear the nickname. "You crashed into my wall. Books fell off the shelves on the other side." Twilight explained.

I groaned. "Fine, I'll help." Looking back at the two children, I put on a serious face. "Lilac, play with Scootaloo. She's going to your school too." I walked towards the library with an angry unicorn in front of me.

Well, that was an eventful five minutes.

==DMLB==

 _Monday. First Day of School_

"Is that the last picture, Mommy?"

"Yep." I placed the disposable camera in my saddlebag. "I'll take the rest later during my first day on the job." I lifted a brow. "Do you have all your stuff for the day?"

Lilac saluted. "I got my pencils, feathers, papers, crayons, a ruler, note cards, paints and paint brushes, and my lunch!"

"Which is?" I asked.

"A banana nut muffin, two sapphires, hay fries, a grape juice box, and a cupcake!" Lilac said proudly.

I nodded. "Perfect."

"Gah! You're mushy gushyness sickens me." Killjoy said from behind me. I levitated some of the colored pencils Lilac asked for into her specially designed bag. "Can't you despise each other for one day?"

I glanced at Lilac, both our brows raised in shared thought. "You are just the cutest little thing I have ever seen."

Lilac laughed. "Your da smarterest pony I know."

I laughed, looking back at the falling Killjoy.

"Ugh! You're happiness has killed me!" Killjoy groaned. She stuck her tongue out like she was dead.

"You're faking." Lilac laughed.

Killjoy was silent.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's let my sister rot in peace."

"Mommy! That's not very nice!" Lilac said as we walked out of the house.

"What? Killjoy would like some peace and quiet. Death or no death." The two of us walked into Ponyville, the early sun shining.

Lilac nodded. She started skipping soon after.

I laughed. She was adorable.

Soon enough, the school yard came into my view. Foals were being guided inside by the parents/older siblings, some of them not looking very happy. I saw Cheerilee standing by the door, making sure every foal got inside.

I waved. "Hiya Cheerilee!"

The maroon earth pony turned to me, a teacher's smile on her face. "Hello Raspberry, hello Lilac." She greeted. When Lilac and I arrived at the door, the teacher leaned down towards the dragon. "Excited for today?"

"Yes ma'am!" Lilac nearly squealed.

Cheerilee and I chuckled. She looked over at me, a slightly more serious look on her face. "And are you prepared for this afternoon?"

I nodded. "Yep. I'll be there by 2 o' clock sharp!"

Cheerilee nodded, smiling brightly. "Perfect." She moved her attention to Lilac. "What do you say we go inside and get started?"

Lilac nodded. "Okay!" She gave me hug, very tight and quick. "Have a good day Mommy!"

I patted her head. "I will."

The purple dragon ran into the school house, Cheerilee following soon after.

...

...

Now what do I do?

==DMLB==

Lilac

This is the best day ever!

Once the school day started, Ms. Cheerilee intro...duced me to everypony! Some of the foals said hi, but two of them were kinda mean. A pink earth pony and a silver earth pony. They just glared at me. I saw Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo! They were really nice. I got a seat in the back left corner. It was behind the pink earth pony, but next to Scootaloo.

When Ms. Cheerilee finished roll call, we had Science. After that, we had something called math-e-matress. No wonder Mommy gets mad when she does numbers, this stuff is confusing!

Once the numbers were done, Ms. Cheerilee told us all it was lunch time! She took us all outside to the playground, showing us a bunch of picnic tables. Soon everypony was soon eating with their friends, but I couldn't find a place to sit.

"Hey Lilac!"

Turning towards the voice, I saw Scootaloo waving an orange hoof at me. She was sitting next to a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane, and green eyes. She looked around Scootaloo and my age.

I ran over to where they were sitting, making sure to bring my lunch bag.

"Hi Scootaloo." Looking at her lunch, I saw she had a PB&J, carrots, apple juice and a chocolate cookie. I reached out my claw to greet the white unicorn. "Hi, my name is Lilac.

The unicorn smiled. "My name is Sweetie Belle." Her lunch looked a little more sophisticated. It was little hoofsandwiches made of lettuce with white bread, some grapes, and a juice box.

"How's your first day been?" Sweetie Belle asked. Her voice was really nice.

"Great!" I grabbed one of my sapphires. "I don't know why Mommy waited so long to send me to one!" I took a bite.

"Woah!" Scootaloo gasped. "How did you do that?'

I thought back to seconds before. What did I just do that surprised her? "Do what?"

Sweetie Belle answered. "Eat that sapphire!"

Lifting up the half eaten sapphire, I shrugged. "What's so weird about that?" I said while taking another bite. Hmm...tastes like sparkly blueberries.

"Ponies can't eat gems, their bicuspids can't handle the strength of the gems!"

"What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo. "I'm not a dictionary. I just know a lot of words."

I giggled. "I'm a dragon, my teeth are stronger than pony teeth." I told them.

The two ponies looked at me wide eyed. "Woah. Cool." They both said.

We spent the rest of lunch eating and talking.

I love school!

==DMLB==

Lunch was over. Ms. Cheerilee says recess is next. I don't know what that it, but the others look excited.

"Now, go and have fun!" Ms. Cheerilee said.

The foals cheered. They ran out to the playground. We get to play!

I ran over towards the swingset. I really liked the swing sets. Jumping up onto the swing, I began pushing myself back and forth. Mommy taught me how to use these on my own. It was a lot of fun!

But, then they showed up.

"Ugh, look over there Silver Spoon." A filly voice started.

"I am, Diamond." A second voice said.

"What's a lizard doing on _our_ swing set?"

"I don't know, Diamond. Maybe she doesn't know." The second voice reasoned.

"Well, let's tell her."

Suddenly, I felt hooves grip onto the swing. I fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ugh! *cough* *cough* *cough*. Hey! That wasn't very nice!" I called out, standing back up to see two fillies.

One was the pink earth pony sitting in front of me. She had a pale purple and white wavy mane, royal blue eyes, a tiara with cubic zirconia gems on it (I'm a dragon, I know my gems), but no cutiemark. The second was the gray filly. Her white hair with a light silver stripe was done into a braid, she wore a pearl necklace and baby blue glasses. Her cutiemark was of a spoon the same shade of blue as her glasses with a bright pink heart at the top. Her eyes were a sparkly shade of purple, kinda like my aunt's but a little lighter.

The pink one smiled, but the kind of smile I saw on my aunt when we went camping and she chased after a squirrel. The pink filly turned to the silver one. "Do you think she got the lesson Silver Spoon?"

The silver filly, who I guessed was Silver Spoon, nodded. "Yeah Diamond Tiara. No lizards on our swing sets."

I glared at them. "They aren't your swing sets, and that wasn't very nice."

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. She shoved me away, nearly making me fall again. "No lizards near the swing sets." She looked at me with half rage and half questioning. "What are you even doing at this school? It's for ponies!"

She was being really, really mean. I almost wanted to cry, but I stayed brave. "My Mommy signed me up for school-"

The bully laughed. "Your _'mommy'_? What? Did she get annoyed with you? Or maybe she was too dumb to do it herself." She hopped up onto the swing I was just on. "Pretty lame dragon if she can't even teach you."

I growled. They could take about me all they wanted, but _**NOPONY**_ talks about Mommy like that! Okay, maybe Auntie Killjoy, but Mommy lets her do that!

"My Mommy isn't a dragon! She's a really cool unicorn!"

The filly laughed, and I realized I said the wrong thing. "Woah. So, even your dragon mom didn't want you and now some unicorn is stuck with you." She looked over to the silver filly lifting herself onto the swing. "Isn't that pathetic Silver Spoon?"

"Totally. And, it's stuck as a blank flank, for like, ever!" The silver filly exclaimed.

Diamond Tiara's eyes widened. "You're right! So, not only isn't it wanted by it's _'mommy_ ', but it's talentless!"

The two fillies laughed cruelly. I ran over towards one of the trees covered with bushes alone.

It wasn't until a minute or two later that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle showed up.

"Lilac, what's wrong?" Scootaloo asked.

I sniffled. "It was those two bullies." I sniffled again.

My two new friends sat in front of me, their eyes curious. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?" I nodded. Sweetie Belle recoiled. "Those two pick on everypony, especially us blank flanks."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah! They're always saying bad stuff about us."

It was then I noticed, Sweetie Belle didn't have a cutiemark like Scootaloo, or Apple Bloom, ...or me.

"That's what *sniff* they told me." I wiped my eyes. "And *sniff* then they said *sniff* my mom, my dragon mom, *sniff* *sniff* didn't want me." Curling myself into a ball, I cried.

I felt small hooves wrap around me. Squinting my eyes open, I saw Sweetie Belle.

"W-what are y-you doing?" I asked her.

Sweetie Belle was hugging me, very tightly I add. "Giving you a hug."

I hugged her back. "Thanks." I looked at the magenta maned pegasus expectantly.

Scootaloo flinched back. "I don't do hugs."

Sweetie Belle and I exchanged glances. We let each other go and walked towards the pegasus.

She slowly started backing away. "H-hey, what are you doing?"

The two of us got closer. Our friend was trying to find a way out. Before she got a chance, Sweetie and I pounced on her.

"Ahh!" Scootaloo groaned. I was squeezing her as tight as I could.

The three of us laughed after a minute. It was nice to have friends.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan_

"So, we good?" I asked Killjoy.

The mare nodded. "Yep. I think I got it all done."

"Great, when is your next one?"

"423 days from today." Killjoy recited.

"Great." I looked at the watch I had purchased. I can't tell the time by looking at the sun. "Crap! I'm gonna be late for work!"

Killjoy waved good-bye, a few splinters still in her fur from her assault on the unsuspecting tree. "K, don't get fired."

"Don't plan to!" I shouted, running out of the Everfree Forest.

This morning, when I got back from dropping off Lilac at school, I realized today was Killjoy's Freak-out Day. She was excited about it.

You see, due to our strange and bizarre lifestyle, there are days when something impossible happens. People ask us _'How are you so calm?_ '. My sister and I answer with the same thing. _'I save my freak out time for when I'm alone. Doing it now would just be stupid.'_. With our lives being like they are, we can't have them by dates or else things would get confusing. So, we just count numbers. Mine was in 236 days. I'm excited for it.

On Freak-out Day, one of us will go to a secluded area and just...freak out. Sometimes we bring breakables like vases or bottles and start smashing them. Sometimes we bring pillows to scream into. One time, Darcy brought a guy's dead body and...yeah I'm just gonna stop there.

Killjoy's victim today was a tree inside the Everfree Forest. She had been tearing into it since eight in the morning.. It's almost two.

During this time, I hung out with Zecora. The shaman was very talkative, it was so cool hearing her talk in rhymes! She even got me into doing it at one point! I was talking in rhyme for twenty minutes before I realized it! Haha! Also, I got that strange feeling in my chest again, and I knew it was something important. Why can't I just remember what it was?!

Ugh, nevermind. Gotta get to work.

Once Freak-out Day was done, we usually felt a lot better. It's hard keeping all those screams contained. I was looking forward to mine so I could start freaking out about Lilac. Last time it was just improper.

Hey. Look. There's the schoolhouse! I made it on time! Hopefully!

I stopped myself just outside the main door. Using a quick haircheck spell, I made sure I was ready for this. Double checking my story, I made sure it was safe for last thing I needed was to make sure that new spell I made for storytelling would work.

Now, I wait.

...

...

...

..-

The door swung open and Ms. Cheerilee was on the other side. She smiled.

"Hello Raspberry." Cheerilee greeted.

"Hi Cheerilee."

The mare stepped aside, gesturing me in with her hoof. "Come on in, the foals are excited about today."

I smiled. "I'm sure they are."

Cheerilee guided me into the classroom, there were a surprising amount of rooms in this place. Once there, I saw there were around twelve foals inside. Snips and Snails, Diamond Tiara (without her cutiemark I add), Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Twist, Featherweight, a pink foal that I think was Berry Punch's daughter, Dinky Doo, and Lilac.

"Fillies and colts, this is Ms. Raspberry Stardust." Cheerilee began. "She is going to be the school's new storyteller."

The twelve kids cheered, though a few looked less excited than the others.

"I'll be in the next room working, so if Ms. Raspberry needs to she can come and get me. You may all leave when the 3 o'clock bell rings. Is that understood?" Cheerilee asked.

"Yes Ms. Cheerilee." They all said.

Cheerilee smiled at them. "Okay then," She started walking towards the door. "Oh, and, Ms. Raspberry?" I turned to her. "Have fun."

The door shut, and it was just the thirteen of us.

"Well," I said, slowly turning back to the foals. "Let's get introductions out of the way. Fair warning, I may call you by the wrong name. If that happens, just let it slide. It will happen again."

A couple of the foals laughed.

"Okay, let's start on the front row." I pointed at Featherweight. "You, state your name."

"Uhh...Featherweight." I moved my hoof to the next foal.

"Twist!" Next desk.

"Berry Pinch."

"Snips."

"Diamond Tiara, my daddy is-"

"Didn't ask. Next!" I pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom. Hiya Raspberry."

"Zup Bloom. Zecora says hi." I aimed a hoof a Silver Spoon. "You!"

"Silver Spoon."

"And I'm Snails."

"Sweetie Belle."

"Scootaloo."

"You know my name." Lilac laughed.

"Yes, I do, but they might not. Name please." I asked, laughing a little.

"Hehehe. It's Lilac."

"Lilac. Such a pretty name. Your mother chose...wisely." I said.

"You chose it." Lilac laughed.

"That I did, and I did choose...wisely."

"Wait." Diamond Tiara started. "You're her-"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" I stopped her. "Raise your hoof. We're civilised creatures."

The rich filly groaned, but still raised her hoof.

"Yes? Jaded Crown?"

"It's _Diamond Tiara_. And, why do you have a lizard?"

"That's racist, Amethyst." I said.

"Diamond!"

"Topaz."

"Diamond!"

"Ruby?"

"Diamond Tiara!" The filly growled.

"Diamond Tiara?"

"YES!"

"No yelling. This is supposed to be a silent class." I scolded lightly. The other students snickered. "And, to answer that, I adopted a _dragon_ because nopony else could."

I hopped into Cheerilee's chair. It was thankfully one of those chairs that had wheels. I didn't know they had those here!

"Now...who wants to hear about the time I fought a colt in a gas mask looking for his mommy?"

Berry Pinch raised her hoof.

"Yes, Berry Pinch?" I asked.

"Don't storytellers tell ones about flutterponies or princesses or seaponies?"

"Or knights! And slaying giant monsters!" Snips added.

"Some do, but wouldn't you rather hear a story from somepony first-hoof? 'Cause I've slayed a couple monsters in my day." I admitted.

"No you haven't." Silver Spoon said.

"You're right. Slay is a rather harsh term. I defeated a couple monsters in my day. I've fought witches, warlocks, wereponies, vamponies, robots, aliens." I leaned over the desk, "I've even fought a Dalek."

Twist raised her hoof. "What'th a Dalek?"

"Imagine a pepper shaker holding a whisk and toilet plunger."

"That doesn't sound scary." Diamond Tiara commented.

"You didn't raise your hoof and does this," I prepared the spell I had crafted and soon a projection of a Dalek appeared between me and the students. They gasped. "look dangerous now?"

" _Exterminate! Exterminate!"_

"Oops. Wrong clip."

I thought over the memory of fighting Jamie. It appeared on the formed projection screen. But, ponified. I also closed the windows so it was darker in the room.

"Now, let's begin on the cold streets of Great Britain. A country on a planet, far, far, far away..."

==DMLB==

" _Are you my Mummy?"_

" _Mummy?_

" _Where are you Mummy?"_

" _Mummy!"_

 _They crowded around the four of us, all the victims of this horrible plague. We kept searching for a way out, we were utterly surrounded. Jack was aiming his sonic gun about, trying to intimidate them. It didn't work._

" _Doc, what the heck do we do?" I asked him as one of the gas mask wearing ponies nearly touched me. "What do we do?!"_

"And...! Fade to black." I said, cutting off the spell and raising the blinds on the windows.

"Gah!" The foals recoiled, their eyes adjusting to the brightness.

"But it can't end thare!" Apple Bloom called out.

"What about Nancy?!" Berry Pinch added.

"How did you get out!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Did you die!?" Scootaloo called out.

"Yes." I said. "But that comes later during the Family of Blood." I added. Getting out of the chair, I walked towards the door. "And, the rest of the story (which I call _The Doctor Dances_ ) I will tell on Wednesday."

"Why would you tell us a story, but forget the ending?" Diamond Tiara yelled.

"Emerald Bracelet stop speaking out of turn." I said. "I told you the story without the ending, because that's how I was told stories. Bit by bit."

*BRNNNNNNG*

"And that's our cue to leave." I opened the door with my magic and gestured out the door. "Next time, I'll explain what happened next. Here's a bit of a spoiler; this kind of ending only happened _once_."

The foals groaned, but they still gathered their belongings for the end of the school day.

I think I did fairly well.

==DMLB==

 _Tuesday._

The sun arose that glorious day, and I had but one thought.

Get that mother bucking sun out of my eyes.

*knock* *knock* *knock* *knock*

"Yes?" I half groaned.

" _Mommy! Get up! It's time for school!"_

Oh, right, school happens five times a week. Now I know why I hate that place.

Getting myself out of the bed, I used magic to open the door.

Lilac was standing there, looking as if she had gotten a full night's rest. Her scales were neatly brushed, I think I saw a twinkle as she smiled, and her claws looked sharpened.

"I don't know if you should go today. You still didn't tell me what happened yesterday."

The day before, Lilac had returned home with me and I noticed a scuff mark of her head just above her eye and dirt in her head scales.

Her smile faltered for only a second. "Scootaloo and I were playing outside and I tripped."

"I invented that trick, only I used Killjoy. What really happened?" I asked her.

"I told you, I played with Scootaloo and my new friend Sweetie Belle." Lilac said, confidently.

Not knowing what else to do in my state of exhaustion, I shrugged. "Alright then, let's get you ready for school." And other things. "Hey, I forgot to mention. Ditzy Doo delivered the mail yesterday, and apparently all of your classmates are going to a party."

"A party?!" Lilac cheered.

"By Pinkie Pie."

"Pinkie Pie?!"

"At Sugarcube Corner."

"Sugarcube Corner!?"

"For Diamond Tiara."

"Diamond Tia- oh. Her?" Lilac stopped cheering, and her smile vanished.

"Yep. It's to celebrate her getting her cutie mark last night. I thought it was pretty short notice, but if it's that little snob I'm surprised they didn't have it last night." I said.

"Snob? What does that mean?" Lilac asked curiously.

"It means that somepony thinks they're better than you, and try to make you think it. Personally, I just punch them and the problem takes care of itself." Killjoy said as she joined in our conversation.

"That last time you did that, we were almost arrested." I explained to her. Killjoy shrugged.

"Better arrested than spending another ten seconds with that bit-"

"Beep." I said, covered Lilac's hearing fins.

Killjoy groaned. She hated being censored.

==DMLB==

I was walking across town, just aimlessly wandering about. There wasn't really much planned for today, except for the party later. If you ask me, I found it strange that Diamond Tiara's party was less than a day after gaining her cutiemark. Maybe it was a rich thing.

"Ugh...did you really have to drag me with you?" Killjoy groaned.

"Yes." I said simply to the pegasus that was following a few steps behind me. "You still need to find a job by the end of the day."

"Why?" Killjoy groaned.

"Because, I'm not gonna let you mooch off me...again." I noticed a newspaper stand nearby and levitated a copy of _Ponyville Gazette_. I also placed two bits on the counter as payment.

Killjoy flew above me, probably trying to find a way out of this. "What if I-"

"No."

"You didn't even hear what I was gonna say!" Killjoy defended.

"True. You were either gonna try to make it as a vigilante, bank robber, or stealing pony's animals and return them once they sent out Missing Posters." I told the pegasus.

Looking over again, I saw we were at Sugarcube Corner. I headed inside and watched as Killjoy followed me without even glancing at what this place was. Stepping towards the counter, I saw Mrs. Cake at the counter.

"Hello Mrs. Cake." I greeted.

The blue earth pony smiled at me. "Hello Raspberry. How are things going?"

"Great. I was finally able to find a nice place to work." I said, glancing about at display case for something to eat.

"Really? Where?" Mrs. Cake asked, before Killjoy walked next to me. "Oh~. Who is this?"

I glanced at the blood red pegasus. "This is Killjoy. She's with me."

Mrs. Cake raised a brow. "Oh. Well, I didn't know you were...with somepony."

I raised a brow as well, exchanging glances with Killjoy.

We spoke together with twin telepathy.

" _Do you know what the fuck she's talking about Morgue?"_

" _No. I thought you would know."_

" _Well I don't._ With somepony _? What?"_

" _Somepo...shit! She thinks we're a couple!"_ I exclaimed mentally.

Killjoy's eyes widened, then she started laughing.

She looked as Mrs. Cake. "She _wishes_ she was in a relationship with me." Killjoy explained.

"In your dreams, maybe I do."

"No, in my dreams you do something else." My perverted sister said.

I groaned, rubbing my head as I felt another Darcy-ache coming. "Sometimes I can't believe I'm related to you."

"Related?" Mrs. Cake asked.

My amber eyes widened as the implication hit me. "We're not dating. Killjoy is staying at my place because she can't afford a place of her own."

"I could so."

"Then get a job." I said sternly.

"Sure thing _Mom_." Killjoy groaned, flying towards an empty table.

I rolled my eyes, and chuckled. "Sorry about her. She's usually like that."

Mrs. Cake smiled. "Oh it's no problem, Raspberry. What would you like?"

"One chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing and one strawberry cupcake with cherry icing." I explained.

The baker wrote my order down. "That'll be four bits."

I levitated the required bits up from my saddlebag and placed them on the counter.

"Your order will be ready in five minutes."

Smiling, I walked over to the table to where Killjoy was sitting.

"You just love humiliating me in public, don't you?"

The silver maned killer nodded. "More than you love humiliating me."

"I don't- yeah. I do." I corrected. "So, I think I found the job for you."

"Oh?" Killjoy asked. "Will I get payed for being lazy?"

" 'll get paid to beat ponies up." I explained, lifting up the wanted section of the newspaper.

"Say what?" Killjoy asked, glancing at the ads.

"Third from the bottom, fourth column." I told her.

The pegasus found the ad, reading over it carefully before grinning happily. She wiped a fake tear with her hoof. "Oh, sis, you know me so well."

The job? It was working as a bouncer at Ponyville's only nightclub _'The Frosty Mug'_.

"NEW PONY~!"

Crap. I forgot about Pinkie Pie.

Slowly looking at my sister, I got the message she was trying to send via twin telepathy. _"I'm going to kill you someday Morgue."_

==DMLB==

I rushed towards the schoolhouse so I could pick up Lilac on time. The rest of the day had passed in a blur, the things I had been doing taking almost forever. It was mostly reading books I had checked out from the library when I helped Twilight clean up.

*BRNNNG*

Just in time.

The doors to the school opened and the foals all ran out. It didn't take me long to see the sad faces of Apple Bloom and Twist.

"Hey fillies." I greeted.

The red maned fillies looked up at me. "Hiya Miss Raspberry."

"Hello Mith Rathpberry." Twist greeted.

I raised a brow. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you two are upset."

"What maketh you thay that?" The future candy maker asked.

"Well, neither of you have smiled in the thirty seconds we've been talking." I pointed out. "And, you're heads are so low on the ground I'm surprised there isn't a line from where they've been dragged across." I noticed a pink little filly walk up with a silver one next to her. "And, I see Ruby Crown found her cutiemark. I can guess she rubbed it in your faces."

The two nodded.

"Hey, have you two seen Lilac?"

"She stayed behind." Apple Bloom said.

"Why?"

"Mith Cheerilee thaid." Twist added.

"Got it trouble?"

"Yeah, and so did an orange pegasus. I think her name is Scooter." Apple Bloom explained.

"Thanks." I nodded at the fillies and walked into the school building. Cheerilee was sitting at her desk and my daughter and her friend were sitting at their desks. "What's up Cheerilee? Anything wrong?"

My co-worker nodded. "Yes. Lilac, would you like to tell your mother what happened?"

The dragon shrunk into her seat.

"Lilac..." I started. "Did you get into a fight?"

She sunk lower.

"I'm not mad if you did. I'm more curious as to why." I tried to add comfort. "So, let's go over what could've happened. Did she make fun of Scootaloo?"

"How did you know it was a she?" Scootaloo suddenly asked.

"You just told me." I said, smirking.

Scootaloo realized her mistake and facehoofed.

"Well, Cheerilee I think you know what happened." I said, my gaze not leaving the purple dragon.

"She got into a fight with Diamond Tiara during recess."

"I don't see-"

"And then she tried to set the filly on fire."

Smurf.

I raised a brow. "Did you follow Killjoy's advice from this morning?"

Lilac shrunk lower, so low I thought she was gonna fall out of her seat, and nodded.

"Oh dear. Lilac, never listen to your aunt. She gives worse advice than those magic 8 balls." I explained delicately.

"But Diamond-" Lilac started.

"You can tell me about it once we get home." The mother in me said sternly. "Come on, Li."

The little dragon hopped down from her chair, grabbed her backpack, and walked towards me. The dragon jumped up onto my back and waved. "See ya later Scootaloo."

"Later Lilac." The pegasus said.

==DMLB==

I had sat the dragon down on the kitchen table, giving her the occasional glance as she did her homework. It was almost dead silent, even when Killjoy got back. The airheaded mare could feel the tension in the air and sat down on the table as if she herself had done something wrong.

Once Lilac was finished, I pulled up a chair next to Killjoy.

"So, Lilac, tell me what happened."

Killjoy sighed a sigh of relief. "*phew* I thought I was the one in trouble."

"No, you're in trouble."

"What? What did I do?"

"You were the one who gave the advice to punch Diamond Tiara in the face."

Killjoy's purple eyes widened. "She actually did it?!"

"No." Killjoy sunk. "She tried to burn it off."

Killjoy chuckled. "Nice."

I chuckled too, imagining the image of a melting Diamond Tiara. She would scream _'What a world! What a world...'_.

"Hehehehe. Imagine her as the WWW." I told my sister.

She got the reference and laughed, hard. "Oh my gosh! Bwahaha! It's true!"

"Minus the green skin."

"But other than that, it's perfect!" Killjoy laughed.

Lilac looked between the two of us. "Wait...you're not mad?"

"Mad?" I held back my laughter. "Why would I be mad? Sure, you tried to barbeque Diamond Tiara- hehehe- but you stood up for yourself. That's what makes me happy."

Lilac smiled, the nervousness I saw in her fading. "So...I'm not in trouble?"

"No. Just, next time remember the best form of revenge. Proving them wrong. Even if it takes years and years, show those ponies that did you wrong that you fought against all odds and became something greater!" I lifted my hooves into the air as I finished my inspirational message. "That's what KJ and I did."

"Really?"

"Heck yeah! We totally showed those losers!" Killjoy said. Her face blanked. "Wait...which one?"

"When you were six." I reminded.

"Oh, you mean when you-"

"Yep."

"And I-"

"Definately."

"And when they called us-"

"You. But yes."

"Oh, then yeah we showed them!" Killjoy cheered.

Lilac raised a brow. "You two are acting weirderer than usual."

We shrugged. "We get that a lot."

"Now. Let's get going, DT's party is soon."

==DMLB==

By the time the three of us made it to Sugarcube Corner, the party had already started. We had also run into a familiar orange earth pony.

"Hiya Applejack." I greeted.

The farmer turned to my little group, a smile on her face until she noticed Killjoy.

I elbowed my sister. Killjoy glared at me until she realized what I wanted her to do.

"I'm sorry that I drugged you." Killjoy groaned.

Applejack nodded. "'pology accepted."

The mare walked inside, stopping once she hit somepony trying to get out.

"Apple Bloom, ya made it!" She greeted her younger sister. "After Ah heard about Twist, Ah was afraid ya wouldn't show up. Ah sure am glad ya came to yer senses about this whole cutie mark thang."

Once Applejack was out of the doorway, the three of us made it inside.

"These things happen when these things are 'supposed to happen." Applejack explained to the panicking yellow earth pony. "Trying ta rush 'em just drives you crazy. Ah'll let ya be, looks like yer friends want to talk to you."

I patted Lilac on the back. "Have fun Li, I think I see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hiding under that table over there." I gestured to a tarpless table where Apple Bloom had just yanked the tarp from to make a dress.

The dragon, noticing the direction Applejack was pointing Apple Bloom towards and the two bullies there, ran underneath the table to join the two fillies underneath.

"Ah, I remember when _we_ used to hide under tables." Killjoy reminded me.

I laughed, picking up two glasses of punch with my magic and walking towards a nearby table. "Yes, but we only hid because you punched Carrie in the face."

KIlljoy shrugged, trying to get a grip onto her cup. "She was being a total bitch. I was allowed a punch." My sister reasoned.

"Not while she was covered in" I glanced around to make sure nopony was listening "pigs blood and has telekinetic powers. If it wasn't for my quick thinking, we would've died in there."

"I did~." Killjoy sang.

"Because you were an idiot~." I sang back.

"Shut up~." Killjoy said, finally get a sip of her punch.

"Hello Raspberry Stardust."

Turning away from my struggling sister, I saw my second favorite pony.

"Sparkle of Twilight, oh what a delight." I greeted.

"Great, now she comes in rhymes." Killjoy groaned.

I laughed.

Twilight just smiled, but one of slight annoyance. "I forgot to ask you before, but...who is this mare?"

Killjoy held out a hoof. "Zup. The name's Killjoy E. Pegasus. My skills included, but are not limited to: flying, a knowledge of almost every battle strategy known to the universe, twelve types of Tae kwon do, four types of karate, I know how to create any weapon you can think of, I know three languages, and!" Killjoy's sentence slowly faded off.

Twilight and I stared at Killjoy in anticipation. I think Twilight was more annoyed.

"And!" She wrapped a hoof around my neck. "I am the only pony ever to piss Razzle of and get away with it."

I laughed, wrapping a hoof around her own neck. "Or so you think. Maybe I'm just trying to plan my revenge."

Killjoy chuckled. It came to a stop when she noticed the look in my eyes.

"Razzle, you are joking?"

I opened my mouth to speak, when suddenly the music stopped. The crowd of ponies gasped and turned towards the music player.

Three fillies stood around it. A fallen Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon and the filly of the hour, Diamond Tiara.

" _Oh Story, here it comes."_ I whispered.

"Wow. That _is_ an amazing cutiemark." Silver Spoon mocked towards Apple Bloom.

"Nice try…" Diamond Tiara started.

" _Blank flank_!" The two snobs mocked.

" _Can I kill them now?"_ Killjoy whispered to me.

" _Don't worry. I'm gonna make some extra punching bags with their faces on 'um."_ I whispered.

" _Perfect_."

The other ponies started murmuring among themselves.

"You got a problem with blank flanks!" A familiar voice called out.

"What?" Diamond snapped.

"She said _'You got a problem with blank flanks?'_ " Lilac yelled as she and the other two fillies walked out from under the table.

Silver and Diamond rolled their eyes. "The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special."

" _You're positive I can't punch her?"_ Killjoy asked. I ignored her.

The three girls walked in front of Apple Bloom. Their faces determined.

"No. It means she's full of potential!" Sweetie Belle encouraged.

"It means she could be great at anything! The possibilities are, _like endless_!" Scootaloo mocked.

"She could be a great scientist, or an amazing artist, or a famous author!" Lilac added.

Sweetie Belle patted Apple Bloom on the back. "She could even be mayor of Ponyville someday!"

Scootaloo aimed a hoof at the two fillies. "And she's not stuck being stuck up like the two of you!"

Killjoy and I laughed, and hoof bumped.

"They grow up so fast." Killjoy said.

Diamond scoffed. "Hey! This is _my_ party! Why are you three on _her_ side?"

"Because." Scootaloo said. Her and Sweetie revealing their blank flanks to the other partygoers.

Apple Bloom gasped. "You don't have yer cutie mark either! Ah thought Ah was the only one!"

"We thought _we_ were the only two!" Scootaloo explained.

"And you're really nice!" Lilac chipped in.

Twilight, who had abandoned my sister and I, walked up to the five fillies and one dragonette. "Well, I for one think you are three fillies."

"Lucky?" Diamond asked, astonished. "How can they be _lucky_?"

Twilight's muzzle shrunk back, like she had just smelled something awful, then it bounced back to a teacher's smile. "They still get to experience the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be."

Applejack walked up to her sister. "And they got all the time in the world to figure it out, not just an afternoon." She winked at the filly.

Ponies all around them started to circle around, asking the fillies all sorts of question and giving them all sorts of encouragements.

"Fighting against the bounds of society." I commented. "Our little girl is growing up KJ."

"Into a bright, shining rebel." KJ wiped a fake tear. "Ah, she makes me so proud."

The two of us laughed.

Some time later, once the music was turned back, the party was back on in full swing. I laughed once Pinkie had finally got up with Killjoy. The party would've been tomorrow afternoon, but apparently it was somepony's birthday as well as the two days after. The Welcome to Ponyville Killjoy Party was gonna be on Saturday now.

Ponies had also started to notice the burnt cupcakes, so my Instant Cupcake Spell came in handy after all. My sister sure did like them.

Soon enough, the two of us sat watching as the four new friends made their way to an approaching table.

"Here it comes." I said, levitating my hidden camera to get a good shot of the four of them.

"Here what comes?" Killjoy asked.

"The day that many will know as the day the Cutie Mark Crusaders were born."

Killjoy back up, a brow raised. "Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"The Most Chaotic Fillies in Equestria." I explained to the mare.

"And you do realize that your _'daughter'_ is probably going to be one such filly, right?" My sister asked me.

I was about to laugh at her, before I noticed Lilac cheering with the three fillies and running off with them.

"Crud." I facehoofed.

==DMLB==

 _That Night_

As I slowly entered my dream, I quickly felt the presence of Princess Luna. She always came on a Tuesday. Which was good, because I had six days to prepare. It was gonna be a treat tonight!

The Night Princess looked around the landscape I had created. It looked like the beginning scene from _Raiders_. There were three others there that Luna did not immediately know. The first was a foal version of Fluttershy and the other two were of the Cake Twins.

Luna, now a little foal, glanced about the large cavern. Her attire was much like Indiana Jones, but babified, pith helmet, jump rope and all.

"Ugh, this place gives the juice bugs!" Foal Fluttershy Finster squeaked, trying to hide underneath her pith helmet.

"We should go back." Pound DeVille suggested.

"Very back!" Pumpkin DeVille agreed.

Luna, completely confused, only nodded. Ugh, she is not playing her role like she is supposed to.

The words I had hoped she would say filled the empty cavern, a couple bats flying off once they came. "No! We've gone too far to turn back now, yous guys! Now come on!" *crack*

The foals all nodded, galloping off towards the end of the cave.

"Why art all these ponies foals?" Luna asked, glancing down. "Why art We a foal?! Raspberry Stardust We demand answers!"

I ssh'ed her. "Shh! Luna, my favorite part is coming up!" I said, my words echoing off the cave.

"And, pray tell, what part is that?" Luna asked, trying to locate me.

"Ah!" Pumpkin Cake squealed as the trap at the end of the cavern started working.

It was one of those stompers that you see on conveyor belts. The ones that went up and down on a predetermined time line? Yeah, the three foals had found themselves trapped with that as their only exit.

"You should really get going, Luna Pickles. Who knows what those three could get into on their own." I said, making sure I was wearing my own pink dress correctly.

After all, can't have a good _'The Rugrats Movie'_ without a good Angelica right?


	12. The Orange Door

It was that time of the week again, tis true. The time where We try to find more about this unicorn mare, Miss Raspberry Stardust, along with her sister, Miss Killjoy.

Both art without a doubt the strangest mares We have met. Tis correct We hath come across Ms. Pinkie Pie, yet her randomness had some strange logic to it. With Ms. Raspberry, We believe she doth not feel truly alive til she hast surpassed a limit upon strange.

We try Our hardest to act in stealth, yet Raspberry always catches Us in her dreams. She furthers Our humiliation by putting Us in strange attire. Last time, We were forced to dress as a creature referred to as 'Maid Luna Marian'! (From Robin Hood)

We do not know where Raspberry picked such strange characters, but We do not wish to know.

Closing Our eyes, We focused on the Dream Walking Spell. Our subconscious was slowly being moved towards Ponyville. Twas not a long wait.

When Our eyes opened, We found ourselves in a cold, desolate town. The ground beneath Our hooves was covered in snow, brown broken buildings were all around, the sky was gray with clouds, far ahead was a large building larger than Canterlot Palace.

That was the direction We flew. In mere moments We found Ourselves at the front gates. The initials RW were in the middle, slowly splitting apart to reveal a familiar face.

Raspberry was wearing a velvety coat that covered her tail, a top hat (she had a love for those infernal things), big round thick black sunglasses, a white cane with a black and white orb at the top, some shined black slippers, and to wrap it all up Raspberry wore a black suit with swirled collars under the jacket.

She smiled at Us, amber eyes beaming. "Hello Luna, I suppose you came for a tour of Raspberry Wonka's Chocolate Factory? With your grandmother?"

Our brow rose. Grandmother?

Turning back We Celestia wearing round glasses, a old burlap hat and matching jacket, a yellow, red and black scarf, and a black and white suit neath it all. Celestia smiled at Raspberry. "Why, yes, Ms. Wonka."

"Excellent!" Raspberry cheered. "Then let's get going! The others have been waiting!"

Slowly, I glanced part the gate and noticed who these others. Dame Pinkie was there in a red and striped shirt with a chocolate bar in hoof with a large blue earth pony with a hot pink mane beside her (Mrs. Cake). Dame Applejack was in a blue…We believe tracksuit with a pale yellow mare with a red mane next to her (Apple Bloom). Dame Rarity was dressed in faux white fox wrap with a white skirt and pink shirt on, a Mr. Hoity Toity beside her if Our sources art correct. Twilight Sparkle was there dressed in strange attire with and a midnight blue unicorn dressed as a professor next to her (Night Light).

Let Us pray We can keep our sanity.

==DMLB==

It had been a short time since We hath arrived. We have seen nothing of importance, only that miniature versions of Killjoy run around to work on this strange place. It reminded Us of an old foe…especially the cotton candy sheeps.

We had lost Pinkie and Applejack: one growing to the size of a house, the other being sucked up into a tube of chocolate. The Mini-Joy's (Raspberry's name for the servants) had sung songs during both the departures. 'Twas only Rarity and her guide, Applejack and her's, Ourself and Celestia.

"Now, this next room is where the nuts are harvested! Personally, I hate nuts. But, somepony out there loves 'um. Please follow me," Raspberry instructed, gesturing towards a door with a sign reading 'The Nut Room'.

We, having somehow ended up and the back of the group, rolled Our eyes as the three pairs ahead of Us trudged into the room.

Something caught Our attention, something in the corner of Our eyes. 'Twas nothing but a door. A simple door painted red-orange. It called Us, it must have some information about the strange mare inside!

Before We could blink, We had a hoof on the doorknob-

" _ **NO!"**_

We turned back in time to see an unclothed Raspberry rushing towards Us. We were harshly pushed away from the door by the mare.

"Why hast thou-" We began

The door suddenly began to glow an dark red color. It struck Us with fear. Raspberry held the door shirt with her body, the fabric of the dream rippling around us.

"Luna, what were you thinking!? This is a bad door! Did you not see the fucking 'Keep-out' signs?!"

Before we could respond, We began to see such signs. Black square signs began appearing on the door. The read: 'Keep-out', 'DO NOT DISTURB', a skull and cross bones was on one, a red octagonal sign read 'STOP'. One sign by the doorknob said 'Are you bucking stupid?! Stay away!'.

Raspberry pushed against the door as something tried bucking it down in mighty hits.

"I won't let you out, you psychotic bitch!" Raspberry screamed.

We opened Our mouth to speak, when a dark voice spoke first. " **What's wrong, Razzle, afraid of little old me?"**

"Yes!"

" **Good!"**

The door was pushed again, with nearly enough force to push Raspberry to the ground. The mare began pushing against the door with renewed spirit.

"I've kept you out this long. I can go longer."

" **I get stronger every day! For decades I have been locked aside in Purgatory! No longer!** _ **Release me!**_ **"** The dark voice ordered.

"You ruined my life, bitch, I will never let you out! Ah!"

Raspberry was finally pushed away from the door as it gave another mighty burst. She landed near Us. The door swung open, darkness was all We could see.

A pair of small lights appeared. Both were as orange as the door's, but had a familiar shape. Eyes.

They aimed towards the petrified Raspberry. A new voice spoke, one that sounded awfully like Raspberry's yet darker.

" **Hmm, it's good to see the world with these old eyes again. Isn't it, old friend?"**

Raspberry scoffed. "We were never friends! I hate you with all my soul!"

The voice laughed, a figure slowly approaching the door. A…muzzle…was…seen…a…raspberry…pink…muzzle…

" **Oh, Razzle."** The figure was out in the light. She was a near perfect copy of Raspberry Stardust. The only one I could see was this double had orange eyes, they had a dark glint in them. Her dark smile revealed two fangs. **"Doesn't the Bible say 'love your enemy'?"**

"Not when your enemy makes Satan look like a kitten drinking milk!" Raspberry yelled at the new unicorn, looking panicked. The rippling of her dream occurred again.

Despite Our confusion, it was Our Duty as Princess of the Night to protect Our Subjects, both in sleep and when not.

"Be gone you foul beast of the night!" We shouted at the second Raspberry, Our horn glowing brightly and wings extending.

Her orange eyes widened. She hissed at the brightness, inching back into the room. We flew to the orange door and slammed the infernal thing shut.

Once We were sure all was safe, We checked on Raspberry. The mare was shaking, her amber eyes glaring at the door as if it were about to attack.

"Pray tell," We began, Our wings resting back on Our sides, "who was that?"

Raspberry was visibly shaking, her posture the same as before. "Luna, remember the day we met?"

Unsure, I nodded.

"That was my Nightmare Moon. The one thing I have never been able to move on from. The one portion of my life I want back, so desperately I would sell my soul if it meant getting rid of _her_." The unicorn's fearful features changed into one of pure scorn. "That thing ruined my life. I will always have that door in my dreams, calling to be opened, but to do so I would unleash my nightmare. Not just to me…"

"But to Equestria as well." We finished.

She shook a hoof. "Don't go thinking of me as a threat now! Think of me more as Hemdell. I can be trusted with your secrets, I shall only reveal them if there is no other option for you. I can be trusted, Luna. All I've ever wanted since her is to be trusted." Raspberry pleaded.

"Thou speakest to Us as thou you art a friend. Why so?" We questioned.

Raspberry looked down at her hooves, a look of shame briefly covering her features before looking back at Us.

"Because, Luna, every lonely monster needs a companion." Raspberry said, a smile gracing her muzzle.

We were saddened. "Thy thinkest of Us as not but a monster?"

She shook her head, her midnight blue mane with silver stripes falling. "No. You're the second kindest pony I know. I was calling _myself_ one." Raspberry slowly stood back up, her strange attire returning. "Thank you for coming to Raspberry Wonka's Chocolate Factory. You have won the mystery prize. You have won the Factory since I am getting old. I found a silver hair in my mane a few months back! I find more each day!" Raspberry pulled at her mane, showing off the silver portions. "Look at this! Can you believe this?!"

We tried not to, but We laughed at Raspberry's antics.

"Wow. You have a nice laugh. You should use it more often." Raspberry waved. "Good morning, Luna. Next time I'll come up with something better!" Raspberry cheered at me. "Maybe we can work on getting your more modern!"

==DMLB==

Our eyes opened, We were in Our chambers at the Palace. Our sister walked in after a moment, most likely for the sun raising. Her lips were thin, awaiting for Our findings.

"Find anything this time dear sister?" Celestia asked.

We nodded. "Raspberry Stardust is a strange one, dear sister. We found this next dreamscape to resemble that of Discord's. Cotton candy included. She had a chocolate waterfall, candy plants, and We witnessed two ponies go thru painful looking transformations. One was turned into a giant blueberry, and the other was sucked into the chocolate waterfall.

"Raspberry Stardust also has a strange compartment set up in the outreaches of her Dreamscape. It unleashed a being similar to how Nightmare Moon was for Us. The only difference We saw was that this nightmare had orange eyes."

Celestia remained unmoved. "It were to seem as though something about Raspberry was left out during our search, sister. What do you think?"

We thought over Our words. "We think Raspberry does not entirely care of Our searches inside of her dreams. She thinks them as nothing more than a... We believed thou called them _'play dates'_." Our sister smiled. We were still getting used to Modern Speech, and Celly loved teaching Us new words.

We continued on. "Raspberry fears this pony as much as We fear the Nightmare. We feel as though We must continue with these inquires if We art to discover the truth, sister." We told her.

Celly nodded. "Alright then, and Luna?"

"Yes?"

Celestia smirked. "It's _'I'_."

We… I growled at Celestia.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

I shot out of bed in a cold sweat. Probably the most terrified I had been in a long time. My body begged for me to scream, I could not tell if I ha-

"What's wrong?!" Killjoy shouted as she burst through my door. The silver maned pegasus looked as though she had just been harshly awakened, yet was non-angry.

I gave her a wary look, simply because the memories of what I had just seen were fresh before my eyes. Eyes…

 _Orange Eyes of Death_

"Razzle, Razzle honey can you hear me?! How many uh feathers am I holding up!?" Killjoy said, flying up to my bedside and lifting her wing.

"D-D-Darce…" I stuttered.

Her royal purple eyes widened. She flew back to the door and locked it shut. She was by my side and rubbing my back. "Morgue, what happened? I thought it was Luna Night?"

"I-I-I saw… _Her_." I spat the last bit out.

Darcy raised a brow. "I thought you liked Luna?"

"I do. It's _that fuckin' orange eyes sonuva bitch that I hate_." I said, my voice getting so small that Fluttershy would sound louder.

Darcy started to look mad. "Her again? I thought She was dead! Died back when I was-"

"Darce, good cannot exist without evil. She told me she had been waiting _decades_ in Purgatory. I don't think she ever died, She was just weakened."

My twin sister was appalled. She slumped onto my bed, that shocked look still on her face. "I _hate_ Morgana."

I groaned. "Darce, her name isn't Morgana! Stop calling her that!"

"Well, why not?" Killjoy asked.

"Because! That name is so much like mine! We're just one letter apart! That's not it." I told Darcy.

Said mare groaned. "I hate it when you're right."

I nodded. "Then you must hate your life."

"Fuck you." Darcy said after a moment of silence.

The response only made me laugh, despite the growing sense of despair inside me. Why, why does that no good vampire have to keep ruining my life?

==DMLB==

1: It's from Robin Hood, you uncultured swine!

2: Mrs. Cake

3: Cherry Jubilee

4: Whoever Twilight's Dad is. Orion or Night Light, pick your poison.


	13. Memories of an Old Friend

_Cloud Kicker_

Morning. That special time of day when ponies all across Equestria get up to live their lives. The grown ponies go to work, the fillies and colts go to school, and the Princess _es_ raise the sun.

Climbing out of my bed, I trotted over to my bedroom window. It gave a beautiful view of the shining town of Ponyville. There was Time Turner on his way to work. There was Ditzy Hooves on her mail route. There was Cloud Chaser and her sister, Flitter, going Celestia knows where. They were all so happy so carefree.

I sighed. I had moved to Ponyville shortly after I turned eighteen a few months back. My best friend had urged me too. She was always the braver out of the two of us. She had been telling me for weeks that it was the right thing. Her sister too. Every time I asked her why, she smiled at me. Such a sad smile it was.

Sighing again, I closed the window and got back to my morning ritual.

It would be a long Monday. I could tell already.

==DMLB==

I arrived at work with great timing. Of course my boss was late as usual. Rainbow Dash, head of the Ponyville Weather Committee. She was great at her job, but she refused to show up on time. Even when she did, she's either practicing her tricks or napping!

Thunderlane flew up next to me. "Hey Kicker, Clould Chaser and Flitter invited us to _The Frosty Mug_ at eight tonight." He elbowed my shoulder. "Ya wanna come with?"

I smiled. "Sure. It's been awhile since I've been to the Mug."

Thunder smiled. "Awesome!"

Before he could say more, Raimbow Dash flew into the building. A proud smirk on her face.

"Okay everypony! We've got an awesome plan for today!"

==DMLB==

*pomf*

There. That was the last of the clouds I had to pop today. It was kinda fun working in the Weather Team. Cloud work was my special talent after all.

I flew over to one of the remaining clouds. According to Rainbow Dash, some of the clouds had to remain in the sky for shade and a small rain next week.

Ruffling my lavender blue wings against my coat, I took in some of the autumn afternoon sunlight. Closing my eyes, I thought of how nice life in Ponyville had been.

Sure, it had it's moments. Like, that giant Ursa Minor. Those parasprites. The Running of the Leaves was last week. I participated…that's when I saw that _she_ was in town.

Killjoy. She had won first place in the race, much to the surprise of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. That blood red pegasus had been in Ponyville for a long time. Ever since Applebuck Season.

That's all I could get. Nopony knew much else. On one hoof, I was excited to see her. On the other, I was heartbroken.

The last time I saw Killjoy, her family had just died. She was leaving town to try and explore the world. Find out who did it, she had said.

Her older sister had let her go. I told them both that KJ was insane. She was fifteen at the time.

I sighed. Thinking about my old friend made me-

"But _Mommy_!" A small voice cried out from below my cloud.

"Hun, I've told you a hundred times now. You have to do your homework on your own." A familiar voice chastised.

"Why?"

Peeking over the edge of my cloud, I saw her. That familiar coat, same two colored mane, strange cutiemark. Even the dragon walking next to her was the same.

Raspberry Stardust had her saddlebags at her sides. Lilac walking beside her. The young dragonette looked annoyed as any child could.

"Because, if I do it for you, then you'll never be able to do it for others." Raspberry explained.

"Ugh! Why would I want to do more schoolwork?" Lilac groaned.

Noticing they were starting to get out of hearing range, I flapped my wings a few times so the cloud would follow them at their pace.

Raspberry smiled, patting her daughter on the back. "Lilac, when your Aunt and I were just fillies she tried talking me into doing all her homework. I told her no. She had to learn on her own, and years later she found out why I told her no."

Lilac stared at mother, as though waiting for more explanation.

The pink unicorn laughed. "Once we were old enough to get out of school, your aunt went all across Equestria. She sent letters, as you remember, telling me how much she had learned.

"One such letter explained how Killjoy had ended up at a party full of pegasi on the coast. She said that she was 800% posistive that all twenty pegasi there shared the same brain cell. She apologized for trying to make me do her work. She realized it was to keep her from becoming like those pegasi." Raspberry explained.

The mare laughed. Lilac was still confused. "So, does that mean you won't do my homework?"

"Do it yourself. Also, don't try to convince one of your friends to do it for you."

The lilac dragon groaned. Her head titled back. Her midnight blue eyes locked with my orchid.

The dragon poked Raspberry's side. "Mommy, somepony's watching us from that cloud!" Lilac tattles.

Just before Raspberry could look up at me, I flew off.

It took a few minutes to arrive back at my house. Slamming my door shut, I pressed my back to the door and slid down.

That was the first time I had seen Raspberry Stardust since I moved away.

She was right, it did break my heart.

==DMLB==

Back at my hometown, I had a small hooful of friends. The two that I spent almost all day were Raspberry Stardust and Killjoy. Well, three if you count Lilac. She was barely understanding what was going on.

The two sisters were orphaned when they were fifteen. They stayed in my house with my parents, since we were close friends to their family. Raspberry could barely sleep the first month, Killjoy the first two weeks. Lilac, the sweet thing, was confused as to why she lived in my house now.

Raspberry had told me what happened that night. How Killjoy and her had gone out on their monthly camping trip, they came back to a-

I stopped myself. Razzle had explained almost perfectly what happened that night. To the point where it felt like _I_ had walked in to the gore.

Months back, when I turned eighteen, I had decided to move to Ponyville. I had tons of doubts, but Razzle kept encouraging me.

The look in her eyes, though, confused me. It looked like she was dying on the inside.

When I asked her what was wrong, she told me later that night.

" _Something's gonna happen to me."_ The raspberry pink unicorn had explained. _"Nothing bad. I don't think. The same will happen to Killjoy."_

" _What? What's gonna happen Razzle?!"_

Her amber eyes shined with unshed tears. She brushed a raspberry hoof thru her mane to get some tangles out, something she did when stressed. _"We're gonna go away."_

I had raised a brow to her. _"That's it?"_

Razzle shook her head. _"Not like move away. It's kinda like… when you add creamer to your cocoa."_

My brow remained raised. Razzle had always come up with weird ways of explaining things to ponies.

" _The creamer and cocoa are two different things, but when mixed they can never be unmixed. The cocoa will look the same with or without the creamer, even so, you can still taste the creamer when you take a sip. It can never be just plain hot chocolate again unless it goes thru a complicated process. Or time travel."_ My best friend explained.

Slowly, I nodded. _"So…which are you?_ " I was afraid of her answer.

A lone tear had fallen from her face. _"The cocoa."_

Even now, months in the future, I hiccupped as tears fell out from my orchid shaded eyes.

She had gone on. _"The next time you see me, after you move, I won't be me. KJ won't either. Lilac will be the only one of the three of us who remain as she is. And I'm so,_ so _sorry Kicker, but it will break your heart."_

" _Why you? Why does it have to be you? Why my best friend?!"_

Razzle had hugged me tight. _"I don't know why. I just know."_

I moved days after. Here in Ponyville, I had made a few friends. Thunderlane was one. Cloud Chaser and her sister. Twins. Identical twins. Why did I like being friends with twins?

Looking over at the window, I saw the sun had set. I was gonna be late for Cloud and Flitter's party!

==DMLB==

Tossing back my jasmine mane with a chiffon streak, I saw the small line outside The Frosty Mug. Thunderlane waved to me from the middle of the line.

"Hey, Kicker!" He yelled.

I smiled, walking up to him. "Hey Thunder."

The dark gray pegasus smiled. "I was starting to think you weren't gonna show."

Laughing, I climbed under the rope barrier. The line was moving really fast. It was just another two groups and we would be inside.

"So, how long was it since you were here last?" Thunderlane asked me, just as the line moved up again.

I shrugged. "A couple weeks, give or take." The line moved up slightly. We were almost in. "It was that night DJ-PON3 was here."

"Aw yeah! I loved her music!"

My eyes were wide. Turning my head I saw Killjoy in a black jacket and sunglasses.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?" Thunderlane asked. I was silent.

The blood red pegasus took off the glasses and stared her royal purple irises at Thunder. "Magically enchanted. My nerd of a sister fixed 'um up so that they look like sunglasses but aren't. Best birthday present ever."

Killjoy and I hadn't been close as foals. The mare was more into doing things on her own or with her sister. The one time I ever saw her with her younger brothers was when she had their necks in headlocks.

The two of us would occasionally go out on short flights. We had learned how to fly at age ten, KJ was a natural. Once she warned her cutiemark and I mine, we drifted slightly. Razzle was short of our link together.

And now, now Killjoy didn't even know who I was.

The guard looked at the clipboard in her hooves. "Names?"

"My name is Thunderlane and this is… hey Kicker, you okay?"

My eyes were still on Killjoy as she looked up at me. A half worried look in her eyes. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Oh! Is there one behind me? I could use something exciting." The pegasus turned around to see if there was any ghost.

"N-no. No ghost. Just…" I paused. "You reminded me of an old friend."

Killjoy shrugged. The worry gone from her eyes. "Alright." She unhooked the clasp on the rope. "There's a Thunderlane along with a Cloud Kicker. Gonna guess the shell shocked mare is Cloud." Thunder and I walked into the club. "Have an awesome night."

Once we got inside, the shock faded away. It was time to party.

==DMLB==

It had been two hours since Thunder and I had arrived. It didn't take long to find Chaser and Flitter. The two were buying us rounds of drinks, and Chaser, being a lightweight, was drunk very quickly.

"Youze guyzes are my best friends." Chaser slurred.

I laughed. "We know, Chaser, we know."

The pegasus lifted a hoof. "No. No. No. I mean it!" Chaser patted my shoulder with her hoof. "Mah best friends in all of Equestria!"

Flitter carefully pushed the drink away from her older sister. "Chaser, I think you've had enough to drink tonight."

The drunk pegasus scoffed. She turned to her sister, her glazed ruby eyes trying their hardest to glare. "You just…just…" Chaser dragged on. "Shush."

Thunderlane and I chuckled.

"Hey guys," I started, "I'm gonna go up and get another drink."

"Alright," Thunderlane said, "But be back quick. I don't think Chaser can last that long."

Flitter rolled her eyes. Chaser rolled her head and ended up smacking her head onto the table.

I flew off towards the bar, my empty glass in my hoof. The bartender, a light brown earth pony, walked up to me.

"Can I help you miss?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, could I please have another glass?"

The stallion nodded, taking my empty glass. "Got it miss."

Smiling, I began heading back towards our table.

"And a toast! For Rarity's success!"

I froze. That was _her_ voice.

"To Rarity!" Multiple other voices cheered.

Turning my head, I saw her. Raspberry was sitting at a table with six other mares. There was Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. The other ones I had difficulty naming. The white unicorn was familiar, I think I saw her fashion show last night. Rarity? The yellow pegasus was familiar too...Shutterfly? That purple unicorn was completely unknown to me.

They all had drinks raised high, the white unicorn was blushing.

"Oh, mares, thank you so much. It was really nothing." The unicorn said.

Shutterfly turned to the white unicorn. "Oh Rarity, but it _was_ something. Hoity Toity is going to use your designs! You're sure to get a lot of business going once the ponies in Canterlot see your dresses."

Rarity smiled. "You have some good points Fluttershy." Oh, that was the yellow pegasus' name. "And thank you, Raspberry, for taking us here. I had no idea Ponyville had such a place."

The pink unicorn shrugged. "Neither did I."

Rainbow Dash chugged a bit of her drink, nearly slamming the glass down on the table once she finished. "Yeah, this place is kinda exclusive. I barely knew about it. How did you even get us in?"

Raspberry smiled. That kind of smile where she knows something you don't. "I know the bouncer."

The purple unicorn flinched back. "That blood red pegasus by the door? You know her?"

Raspberry too a sip of her drink. "You could say that."

"How do ya know her? Ain't she the one that drugged me?" Applejack asked, beginning to glare at Raspberry.

"She and I have a history." The mares at the table were shocked. "Not _that_ way. Geez. KJ is one of my oldest friends. We're like sisters."

Pinkie Pie squealed. "KJ! That's such a great nickname! I was gonna call her Joy or Killie! How did you come up with it?"

" _K_ as in kill, _j_ as in joy. KJ. Killjoy." Raspberry explained. "It's way cooler than her nickname for me."

The purple unicorn raised a brow. "What is it?"

"Razzle Dazzle." Raspberry said before she could stop herself. She threw her hooves in front of her muzzle as the other mares snickered.

I did too. That's what made them all spot me.

"Hey, I know you." Rainbow Dash said. "Cloud Kicker, right?"

My orchid colored eyes widened. I realized I had been spying on them, very rudely too. "Y-yeah."

"You _do_ look kinda familiar..." Raspberry commented. "Now that I think about it." She tapped a hoof to her chin.

"She's really good friends with Thunderlane, Cloud Chaser and her sister Flitter!" Pinkie explained. "She works with the Weather Team and her birthday is in 268 days!"

The table laughed. Pinkie always knew how many days were left til somepony's birthday.

Once it stopped, Rainbow Dash looked over to me with a half-angry look in her eyes. "Were you spying on us?"

I laughed nervously. "Yeah. Sorry. I just got kinda sidetracked."

"No problem." Raspberry said instantly. "If I had a bit for every time I got sidetrac- oh look a butterfly!"

"Butterfly!" Pinkie shouted while hopping up from the table, hovering in midair and dashing off in a random direction.

Looking back towards the table with six mares around it, I rubbed my neck nervously with my hoof. "Well, it's also that...you kinda look like an old friend of mine..." I told Raspberry, briefly glancing into her amber eyes.

She stared at me for a moment. The others did too. They looked more confused, giving Raspberry a glance too. My old friend glazed over for a moment. Once they faded she smiled brightly.

"Yeah, you kinda look like an old friend too. Can't...remember...her name...though." Raspberry proceeded to try and bang her hoof onto her head. "Yep. Nothing. Sorry."

I shrugged. "No problem. Have a good night."

"See at work, bright and early Cloud Kicker!" Rainbow Dash said proudly.

Giving one more nervous chuckle, I headed off.

"Raspberry, did you know that mare?" The purple unicorn asked. I paused a moment to hear Raspberry's answer, even though the mares couldn't see me.

"In another life." Raspberry answered, a sad tone to it.

My eyes suddenly filled with tears, though I didn't know why. I wiped them away with my hoof and walked back to my table. The others were probably wondering where I was.


	14. Pinkie Sense

_Morgan/Raspberry_

The incredible bright sunlight shined into my eyes on that delightful Tuesday morning. Some people thought that Mondays were my bad days. That's a lie. Monday's are amazing for me. Tuesday's though, Tuesday's hate me. The best part of Tuesdays is when Luna visits my dreams.

Although, today would be a good Tuesday.

Today...Twilight's gonna explode into flames. This is gonna be fun!

Climbing up out of bed, I looked over into my closet. Before Rarity's fashion show last week, I asked requested she make Killjoy, Lilac and I dresses of our own. It was very easy to convince the fashion mare what with my amazing debating skills.

It was a simple dress, much simpler than people expected from Rarity. A thin black dress that matched my requests. It fit quite nicely I add. Lilac's was almost the same, except it was a shade of white that would sparkle in any light. Lilac loved it. Killjoy's was little more...problematic.

The red pegasus had never set foot around the Carousel Boutique. Rarity had only met Killjoy twice before; at Pinkie's party and at The Frosty Mug. She was kinda scared of going in there, to be honest. My little sister doesn't like dresses.

Speaking of, something about that Cloud Kicker mare was familiar. Probably a coincidence.

Moving my mind to better thoughts, I skipped out of the door. The days plan were running thru my head.

Killjoy and Lilac were already downstairs by the time I arrived. Lilac, with a bowl of cereal, and Killjoy, with some coffee.

My dragon smiled up at me. "Hiya Mommy!"

I nodded. "Sup, Li." I nodded at my sister. "Sup KJ. How was work?"

Killjoy glared at me. "Can't say in front of child." She said, chugging her coffee.

Lilac titled her heads. "Why not?"

I patted her on the head. "Your auntie likes to use really bad words that aren't allowed in front of foals." I explained to her.

The four year old's head remained titled. "Why not?"

"Because, you need to learn about other words before you learn these words." I told her calmly.

Killjoy slammed her mug down onto the counter. "Why the hell not?"

I rolled my eyes. "KJ, you were older than Lilac when you learned these words." Picking up an apple in my magic, I headed off towards the closet to get my saddlebags. "Also, KJ, I need you to take Lilac to school."

"Where are you off to?" Killjoy barked at me.

"The market. They're some things that we're gonna need for the day." I told my sister and dragon.

Said dragon walked right up to me and gave me a strange look. "But didn't we go shopping yesterday?" She asked me.

"We did, but I need stuff that I forgot to get yesterday." I told her.

"What?" Lilac asked.

"Bee sting ointment, an umbrella hat, a long rope, bungee cords, a bedsheet, a gas mask, an ice pack, and a small jar for your aunt for some new project of her's." What I failed to mention, was that project was collecting new samples of blood to make different brands of Blood Polish. Killjoy was quite the scientist when she wanted to be.

"Okay." Lilac smiled. "Do I need to come with you?"

"Nope. I should be able to get all of this soon enough. KJ," Hearing her nickname, Killjoy looked up at me, "stay out of trouble. For clarification sake, my definition of trouble means _'If you have to run or open a locked door, you're in trouble._ ' Is that understood?"

Killjoy groaned. " _Yes_ Mother."

I scoffed, but went on my merry way.

==DMLB==

An hour later, I had just about everything except an umbrella hat. I had to hurry or I would be late for Twilight falling into a ditch. Now _that_ was gonna be a sight. I wonder where a store that sells umbrella hat's would be? Maybe Pinkie had one on hoof in case of double umbrella hat emergency, you never know.

Speaking of the pink pony, I saw her hiding under various objects with an umbrella hat on her head. I trotted up to her closest hiding spot.

"Twitchy tail?" I asked her.

"Yepperoni! It's been twitcha twitching for a really long time!" Pinkie admitted.

"Which means…something's gonna fall?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

Pinkie gasped. "How'd you know?!"

"Rule 4: She knows _everything_." I explained to the party pony. Before anymore could be said, Pinkie's tail twitched.

"Uh oh." Pinkie said. The mare ran out from under the box she was hiding under and dashed towards something else.

Five minutes later, things got interesting.

We hid under a tree. Then we ran and hid under a porch. Then a rock. It was interesting.

After the rich, Pinkie and I waited in a small portion of grass.

"Twitchy twitcha twitcha twitch." Pinkie whispered, a serious look on her face.

Looking next to us, I saw Twilight and Spike walking towards us.

"Twilight! What's up?" I greeted the unicorn who instantly started glaring.

Spike waved. "Hi Raspberry. Where's Lilac?"

"At school. It's Tuesday. I had some errands to run." I said, showing off the bags I had.

"Oh. What are you getting?" Spike asked.

"Bee sting ointment, a long rope, bungee cords, a bedsheet, a gas mask, an ice pack, and a jar for my friend's chemistry project. I'm still looking for an umbrella hat." I tapped a hoof on my chin. "Though, I guess it's too late for the hat."

Twilight stopped glaring and looked confused. "Why do you need all those things? You look fine, so why the ointment?"

Giving the unicorn a knowing smile, I gave her a small reason for annoyance. "You'll see."

Twilight resumed glaring. She looked over at Pinkie, the mare who had tried to hide under her umbrella hat.

"Pinkie Pie? What in the wide-wide-world of Equestria are you up to?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie Pie looked as though Twilight had asked her what color the sky was. "Oh! It's my tail! It's my tail! It's a-twitch a-twitchin'! And you know what that means!"

"I sure do." I smirked.

Twilight and Spike exchanged looks.

"Actually, Pinkie, I haven't the slightest idea." Twilight admitted.

Pinkie Pie seemed more than delighted to explain. "The twitchin' means my Pinkie Sense is telling me that stuff's gonna start falling! You should better duck for cover." She warned.

I glanced up. Fluttershy was flying overhead with a cart full of frogs. A couple frogs hung all around her body. Spike followed my gaze to see Fluttershy.

Twilight Sparkle practically rolled her eyes at Pinkie's naïvety. "Oh, Pinkie, it's not gonna rain. Why there's barely even a cloud in the-ugh!"

A frog had landed straight on Twilight's face.

Fluttershy floated down a little, her usual apologetic look clear on her face.

The frog croaked.

"He just said 'nice catch' in Frog!" I explained happily to Twilight.

Pinkie gasped. "That's what _I_ was gonna say!"

"I know." I smiled.

Fluttershy came down to the point where we could hear her. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry. You okay, Twilight Sparkle? I just couldn't stand to see the pond getting so over-populated, what with the frogs all hopping into each other and all, so I decided to fly as many as I can on over to Froggy Bottom Bog."

"Of course you did." Twilight said as the frog started crawling over her face.

"Bye-bye!" Fluttershy said, but it was kinda muffled.

Pinkie Pie raised a brow. "Um... Twilight? You gotta little somethin' on your face there."

"Oh, really? Did your ' _Pinkie Sense'_ tell you that, too?" Twilight asked, annoyed.

Pinkie smiled. "Nah! I could just see it. La-la-la-la-la..."

I looked over at Twilight happily as Spike smacked the frog off Twilight. "Whatcha doin'?" I asked.

The unicorn ignored me. "C'mon, Spike, let's continue our practice session where there's a little less commotion."

The two walked away. Well, I guess I still had to gather some supplies. Where can a girl find some bee sting ointment at this hour?

Turning myself a little to the right, I saw a store that... somehow... was selling everything I needed!

Wow. Luckiest Tuesday Ever!

==DMLB==

Wow. That has to be the shortest shopping trip I have ever taken. When I walked back out, I heard a commotion just down the road. Trotting briskly, I found Applejack. She was standing next to a vegetable cart with Pinkie, Twilight and Spike. Pinkie was staring at Twilight with a sad expression.

"I'll start a bath for you." Pinkie said.

Twilight Sparkle only chuckled. "A bath? This thing keeps on getting more ridiculous by the minute!"

A cart walked behind her, splashing some mud onto Twilight's mane and hooves.

The unicorn grumbled.

I snickered

*click*

"What was that?" Applejack asked.

"Nothing." I lied as I hid my camera back into my saddlebags, still snickering. "Let's get ole Sparkle of Twilight cleaned up."

Said sparkle glared at me. I smiled and waved.

==DMLB==

Soon enough, Twilight was in a tub in Pinkie's place. I had offered to come along in case of emergencies.

"Phhhhft." Twilight said, blowing away some of the bubbles.

Pinkie Pie came in with a jar of bubble bath. "Sooo, basically, it works like this: I get different, little, niggling feelings and they mean different things. Like when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day. And, when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary's about to happen."

"Is your knee pinchy now?" The unicorn asked worriedly.

Pinkie Pie moved her shoulder. "No, but my shoulder's achy."

"That means there's an alligator in the tub." Pinkie and I said at the same time.

Pinkie gasped. She went over to the tub and pulled out a green alligator with purple eyes.

Twilight jumped up out of the tub. Her mane and tail were soaked. She pointed a hoof at Gummy.

"Hey, it's Gummy!" I cheered.

"How come your knee didn't get pinchy?! That isn't just scary, it's downright dangerous!" Twilight nearly shouted.

"No, it's not, silly!" Pinkie cheered. "This is my pet alligator, Gummy. He's got no teeth. See?" Gummy hopped up. He chewed on Pinkie's hoof, mane and tail. "Haha!"

Twilight Sparkle grumbled. "Okay, okay... I get it."

She turned to me, an angry look in her eyes. "Wait...how did you know about Gummy?"

"Rule Four." I said simply.

"Which is...?" Twilight asked, still standing on the end of the tub.

"She knows everything." I answered.

"A pony can't know everything."

' _Well I'm not a pony.'_ I thought. "True, but once one admits they know nothing can they know everything."

"Wow! That was really deep!" Pinkie laughed. Gummy hopped off her tail, realizing it wasn't food.

"I know." I smirked.

Twilight raised a brow, probably curious as to why I needed all of those supplies.

==DMLB==

Once Twilight was all cleaned up, Pinkie and I walked her home.

Twilight Sparkle continued out debate on Pinkie Sense and Rule Four. "Well, I still don't believe all this... 'special power' stuff. It's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo."

Pinkie shrugged. "What's not to believe? You do magic, what's the difference?"

"Huge! For one thing," The student paused, seeing a soap box nearby. She stepped up ontop of it. "*ahem* magic is something you study and practice. It only happens when you decide to do it, and it's meant to make something specific that you choose to happen, happen. With you, Pinkie, uh, it makes no sense at all!"

Pinkie glared. "That's so not true, Twilight!" The party pony smiled. "Sometimes it's a bunch of random things happening to my body at random times that supposedly predict the future. I call 'em 'combos'."

"Combos?"

"Sure! You know, like, ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. That means the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow!" We were almost at Twilight's.

"Mine is just...I know a bunch of stuff that seems random and turns into something totally awesome! Most of the time." I explained. Sometimes it crashed and burned...literally.

 _Note to Self: Learn how to correctly land a plane._

"Yeah, sure." Twilight rolled her purple eyes.

Pinkie paused. "Uh-oh, I feel a combo coming on. Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch!"

"Twilight watch out!" I called out.

*crash*

The door to the library opened. Spike walked out backwards holding some books in his claws. I swear I heard car noises.

"Ugh!" Twilight groaned. "Ughhh... You said that combo meant _'beautiful rainbow'."_

Pinkie shook her head. "Oh no-no-no-no-no. You're thinking of an ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. This was an ear flop, then eye flutter, then knee twitch."

"That usually means _'look out for opening doors'_." I commented. Quickly, I lifted the ice pack from my saddlebags. "Ice pack?"

"You okay?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight grumbled under her breath. "I don't believe this."

"You don't believe because you don't understand!" Pinkie pointed out to Twilight.

Twilight gained a devious look in her eyes. Uh-oh.

==DMLB==

Pinkie and I were hooked up to a machine in Twilight's basement. This sounds like a horror movie prompt.

Hmm...I should call my Horror Movie Guy. He might like this. Egghead finally snaps and kills two people in her basement. Yes. I should get on that.

Twilight hooked up the last few cables. "Hmm... okay. Now when you get another twitch, we'll have all kinds of scientific information."

"Okey-dokey-lokey!" Twilight locked Pinkie Pie into place.

The scientist turned to me. "And you, every time you feel like you are starting to know something, we'll have some more scientific information."

"Does knowing 2+2=Fish count? I think I know that." I commented.

Not to my surprise, Twilight glared. "No. It does not." She then locked me into place.

I grimaced. "Don't try getting out. The cuffs are magnetized."

"Which would mean anything if my hooves were made of metal." I deadpanned, trying to move my hooves into a more comfortable position in the cuffs. I do not want Killjoy to find bruises on me.

We stayed in awkward silence for a minute.

"Any twitches yet? Suddenly knowledge?"

"Nopey-dopey!"

"Umm...no?"

Another awkward silence.

"Now? Anything?"

Pinkie gasped. "Wait! Hold on! Uhh, no."

"Oh! I think I have something!"

"What?" Twilight asked, checking some of the documentation being printed up.

"3 plus 3 equals 8! And 7 plus 7 equals triangle!" I cheered. "Success!" Removing my hooves from the metal cuffs, I raised them in the air.

"How did you-" Twilight started. "Never mind."

"Yeah," I said, folding my fore hooves over the cuffs. "My roommate says that-" I stopped speaking for a moment, my eyes going wide. "Huh."

"What?" The unicorn checked over some of the reports printing out from the machine. "Are you getting something?"

"I think so." I said. "I have the bizarre feeling my roommate is getting into trouble."

==DMLB==

 _Killjoy/Darcy_

Floating up on a cloud, I watched as my victim walked along the path. It was almost too easy. She used the same path every day, not once have I seen her avoid it.

It was easy to spot her against the dark green of the leaves and bright red of the apples. Her bright blue coat standing clearly against them as she searched the orchard for the perfect spot.

Soon enough, she had found a tree suitable to her needs. Pulling out a blanket and pillow, the pegasus began napping in the tree.

I chuckled, pulling out the bag full of bugs from my saddlebag.

"Fly, my pretties, and give Dashie a big ole Darcy Style surprise." I instructed, turning the bag over Rainbow's napping branch.

==DMLB==

 _Raspberry/Morgan_

"It's probably nothing though." I shrugged.

Twilight Sparkle's right eye twitched.

"Wait, hold on, I'm feeling something..." Pinkie said.

"Oh my gosh, what? What is it?!" Twilight said, finally sounding excited.

*growl*

Pinkie smiled "It's my tummy! That usually means I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

"I could really go for a cupcake. Or pizza! Or a pizza made out of cupcakes!" I suggested.

Twilight groaned. "Urgh... You know what?" The scientist stormed over towards the machine, pulling off various cords. "Just forget it! I don't need to know if this is real or not. I don't need to understand it! I don't even care!"

Pinkie and I blinked.

"Oki-doki-loki." Pinkie cheered.

The three of us began walking back up to the library (okay, Pinkie was hopping). Spiral staircases were always fun in the past, just not much fun to climb up. Pinkie started hopping faster than Twilight and I, although I was perfectly fine with being behind. My sister thinks I'm part turtle.

One of my hooves began lazily dragging itself along the wall of the stairs, feeling the contours of the dirt as I trotted up the large staircase.

"What are you doing?" Twilight grumbled.

"A thing." I said simply, now watching my hoof along the dirt. Let me tell you, it is awkward walking with three hooves.

"What _'thing'_?" Twilight asked.

"A boring thing." I added. This mare isn't much of an imaginative thinker.

At the end of our conversation, we ended up at the top of the stairs.

Pinkie gasped as we reached the door. Her whole body physically stopped, her hooves stretched out in surprise. "Uh-oh." The pony with the sixth sense gasped again.

Twilight simply walked past her. Pinkie's ears flopped. Her eyes fluttered. Her knees started twitching. "Hu-bu-bu-bu-buh!" The mare fell on her back.

I took two steps farther back from Twilight.

*SLAM*

*click*

A little purple and green dragon walked into the basement as I re-hid my camera in my saddlebag. He seemed to be looking for something. "Raspberry? Pinkie? Have you seen Twilight?"

Pinkie, as if she hadn't fallen, bounced right past Spike. "Uh-huh." The mare cheered. I snickered.

The door closed itself, revealing the purple unicorn smashed against it.

*click*

Damn. I've only got room for seven more pictures on this thing.

I kept snickering as Spike leaned over the edge of the ground, trying to find Twilight by the lab. He looked up, noticed his friend, and slowly backed away. "Twilight?" Spike asked. "What are ya doing back there?"

"Did you three plan this?" Twilight and I said. Though, her's was more aggravated. Mine was chipper and happy.

"Plan what?" Spike asked.

Grinning, I skipped out of the lab. Today was a good day, but I still wanted some lunch.

==DMLB==

Pinkie and I were hanging around the school playground. After the two of us had lunch at Sugarcube Corner, we had decided to walk around Ponyville. We took a brisk walk through the park, smelling flowers along the way. My traveling companion never stopped giggling. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bush stalking us. At one point, Spike walked up to the bush and I didn't see him come out.

The playground was where we had ended up.

"So, anything new happening with you?" I asked Pinkie.

The party pony tapped a hoof to her chin. "Hmm, I don't think so. You?"

"Meh. Except for the new job, life has been pretty slow." I admitted. "That cupcake was pretty cool though, much better than the Baked Bads."

"The what?" Pinkie asked.

"Remember during Applebuck Season when Applejack helped you at Sugarcube Corner?" I reminded.

"Yeah, you showed up and threw away the cupcakes." Pinkie said, almost sadly.

"Those were Baked Bads." Tapping my hoof the ground, I explained. "Applejack has used potato chips, soda, lemons, and worms." Pinkie's face scrunched up in disgust. "Now you see why I got rid of them."

"Wasn't setting them on fire a little much?" Pinkie asked.

I shook my head. "Pinkie, you were planning on giving everypony free samples of those muffins. If anypony ate them, they would've be throwing up for days!"

The party pony widened her eyes. "Wow. How did you know that?"

"The same way I knew your nose is going to be itchy in two seconds."

"My nose isn't-" Pinkie paused, scratching her nose with her hoof. "Oh! Oh! My nose is itchy! My nose is itchy!"

"Hide!" I warned, running over towards a nearby bush. Pinkie hid under a giant horseshoe.

It took only a moment for the bee swarm to appear. They flew over towards the bush that a small dragon had recently come running from. Reaching into my saddlebag, I pulled out the bee sting ointment and tossed it over in the direction of the bush where Twilight was obviously hiding in.

"That should take care of it." Coming out of my hiding spot, I waited as Pinkie came out from the horseshoe.

Pinkie nodded. "So, where should we go now?"

"Sweet Apple Acres." I _'suggested'_.

"Okie dokie loki!" The mare began bouncing off in the direction of the Apple Farm.

==DMLB==

The farm was absolutely delightful when the two of us arrived. The clouds provided nice shade from the autumn sun, the occasion breeze blowing some leaves in my direction.

"Wow. Somehow it's more beautiful over here." I commented.

"You mean beautiful _ler_!" Pinkie corrected.

"Sure, why not?" I laughed. Noticing Spike and Twilight hide off behind some hay bales, I trotted around some of the nearby blue and green flowers. I bent down to smell one. "One must stop to smell the roses."

"Oh! That was a good one!" Pinkie said.

"I kno-" Looking over towards the pink pony, I saw she was smelling another blue and green flower. Shrugging, I trotted over to the flower to give it a sniff. "Wow. That is a good one."

"I know!" Pinkie gasped. "I knew!"

"You did." I giggled.

*flop* *flop* *flutter* *flutter* *twitch* *twitch*

"Hmm..." I looked around to see Spike starting to freak out. "No doors around here. We'll be fine."

Pinkie nodded. The two of us began walking (well, Pinkie was hoping) out of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Hey, you wanna go help me pick up Lilac? I think we have a couple hours free before Twilight gets out of the hospital." I asked politely.

Pinkie titled her head. "Why is Twilight in the hospital?"

"She fell into the Apple's new apple cellar." I explained plainly.

"Then I would love to help pick up Lilac!"

"Thanks Pinkie." I smiled.

"No problem! Anything for a friend!"

My mouth opened to make a retort, but then I thought it over. Pinkie Pie considered me a friend? Sure, the pegasister in me was screaming, but the loner inside me was scared. Pinkie Pie, The Element of Laughter, Premiere Party Pony of Ponyville, and best maker of Cupcakes I know, considers me a friend?

Pinkie was a generally curious sort. What if she saw me Jumping? Or accidentally followed me Home? This hasn't happened before, but it could! Especially when Pinkie is involved. I've only known about her for a couple months and I know she's impossible and unexplainable.

What could happen if she found out about me being a human? The worst she could do is tell Twilight, who would in turn tell the Princesses, who would then proceed to perform various medical tests on me.

Not for the first time, I was scared of making a friend.

==DMLB==

By the time Pinkie and I arrived back at the schoolhouse, foals of all ages were rushing out. It took me a moment to find Lilac, thanks to Pinkie doing this:

"HEY LILAC!" Pinkie had shouted. "OVER HERE!"

The slightly mortified dragonette had smiled at the two of us. I waved a hoof meekly, still a little unnerved from what had occurred at Sweet Apple Acres.

Now, the dragon was standing before me, a curious look on her face. "Mommy, what's Miss Pinkie doing here?"

"Razzle and me-" _'Razzle and_ I, _Pinkie. Use correct grammar_ ' "-were just walking around town letting Twilight secretly follow us but she got into a little accident so Razzle asked me if I wanted to come pick you up from school so of course I said yes because Razzle is my new friend and I want to help all my friends!" Pinkie said quickly.

I nodded. The blue eyed dragon smiled on.

"Oh...well, my friends and I were going to play." Lilac half-lied.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were a secret club, remember? She couldn't give up the secret, lest she face the judgment of her pint sized peers. Not that it would be that bad. The worst I've seen Sweetie Belle do is take her sister's cloths to make capes. Scootaloo, of course, could probably cause some damage. Apple Bloom would probably just ask Big Mac to help.

I nodded. "Delightful. Stay safe. Don't go into the Everfree, don't talk to strangers, and (most importantly) don't do anything Killjoy would do."

Lilac laughed. "Okay Mommy. See you at dinner!" The purple dragon cheered as she ran off after her three friends.

Turning to the party pony, I shrugged. "Anything else you wanted to do today?"

Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin, her face scrunched in concentration. "I did want to talk a walk in Ponyville Park!"

"We already did that." I pointed out.

"I wanna go again!" Pinkie smiled. It felt like a child was explaining it to me, as if it made complete sense.

Laughing, I gestured a hoof in the direction of the park. "Then let's go while we still got some daylight."

Pinkie jumped up into the air. She squealed quite loudly and dashed off towards the park.

I sighed. I suddenly felt exhausted.

Wait... did Pinkie call me _'Razzle'_?

==DMLB==

The two of us were enjoying the walk in the park. The sun was now hidden by a couple clouds, they passed by with the breeze. Pinkie seemed upbeat with energy, yet with every step I took I felt more and more exhausted.

I had stopped for a smoothie (they have my favorite here, which surprised me. They even called it _'The Elvis Prescolt_ ') along the way, it helped a little. Why was I so exhausted?

"Oh! Look at that!" Pinkie suddenly shouted.

My head shot up. It had apparently titled down in my small exhaustion. "Huh?" I asked.

Pinkie was pointing a hoof excitedly at butterfly.

"Pretty." I smiled. Taking a deep breath to try and stay awake. Taking a glance up at the sky, I saw some cool clouds. "Take a look at that cloud!"

"What cloud?" Pinkie asked excitedly, looking up at the sky.

"The one shaped like a giant cookie." I explained, trying to point at it with my hoof.

"It looks more like a Pegasus Delivery Truck." The pink pony speculated.

"Wha-" Following Pinkie's eyesight, I saw a large truck being lifted by pegasi. Ditzy and Raindrops were lifting a cart filled with various objects from the back of the truck.

*twitch* *twitch*

"Drat." I said under my breath.

*crash* *crash* *Crash* *CRASH*

"Poor Twilight." I mumbled. "That must really hurt her horn." From the corner of my eye, I saw Applejack coming up.

Pinkie started running her hoof of her lips, blubbering like a mother does when feeding a stubborn child. She stopped when Applejack reached us, a full apple barrel on her hind. "Hey, Applejack. Whatcha doin'?"

Somewhere, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro shuddered.

The orange farmer motioned towards the barrel. "Takin' more apples to my new apple cellar. How 'bout you, Pinkie and Raspberry? Whatchu doin'?"

"Letting Twilight secretly follow us all day without us knowing." I explained, grinning.

"You mean you knew all along?!" The purple unicorn snarled.

*click*

"Seriously, can nopony else hear that?" Applejack asked.

"Not a thing." I lied again. Only got six pictures left.

Turning towards Twilight, I saw she was horribly scratched up. She had scuff marks on her face, ears, and hooves. Her two front hooves were bandaged, there was a very slight tremble to her steps. Her right eye was black. Her mane and tail were slightly ruffled, though not Smarty Pants level ruffling.

"Of course I did. Rule Four." I continued grinning.

The purple unicorn began twitching all over, teeth grinding. It reminded me of myself trying not to kill Darcy when she broke one of my Rules. Spike appeared behind Twilight's tail, a worried like on his face.

"Tail... still twitching?" Spike asked.

The bubblegum pink pony smiled brightly. "All done, clear skies from here on in, as far as I can tell-" She paused, her whole body shaking. "Hu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu!"

The surprise of the new sense made Applejack dropped her apples and made Spike hide farther behind Twilight.

Spike gasped. "Oh no! What does that one mean?"

"It's the Doozy." I explained. "It means something you never expected is gonna happen, like in _The Sixth Sense_ when it's revealed that he's-"

"SSHHH! Razzle, don't spoil it!" Pinkie Pie warned, both breaking the fourth wall and my mind. Only for three seconds of course.

The mare shook again. "Its gonna happen... at Froggy Bottom Bog!"

"That's where Fluttershy's headed!" Applejack pointed out.

"Oh no! Is it about her?" Spike panicked.

"Nope." I stated. "In fact, I can say with complete honesty that this doozy has nothing to do with Fluttershy." I scratched my head with a hoof. "But...I can't help but feel my gut telling me that she's still in danger."

Spike nearly started biting his claws. "Wha-what kinda of danger?"

Holding a hoof up to my forehead, I rubbed my temple like I had a headache. I held back a growing yawn. Why was I so tired. "I can't see it. It must be a pretty big thing."

Applejack turned towards the direction of the Bog. "We better go and make sure she's okay."

Twilight the Scientist scoffed. "Calm down, everypony." Pinkie and Applejack had already ran off. "All we know right now is that Pinkie Pie just got a case of the shivers. That's all."

"Better safe than sorry Twi." I told the unicorn, running off after the faster earth ponies.

Damn I wish I wasn't so slow.

Why am I so tired already?

==DMLB==

Some time later, the five of us were walking along the path towards Froggy Bottom Bog. I, since I am usually lazy, was trying not to show I was breathing heavy. The last thing I needed was to take more minutes away from saving Fluttershy and taking a picture of Twilight on fire.

Of course, because I was exhausted, I was far behind Twilight. Realizing this, I knew I had to get my act together. The rest of my plan requires my top performance. I'll have to be fast on my hooves and quick in my mind. So, why am I exhausted? Maybe it was Pinkie offering being my friend that started it.

Sighing, I tried to forget what Pinkie had told me. Having Pinkie Pie, party pony extraordinaire, be my friend is awesome. I've loved (not _that_ way) Pinkie Pie since _'My Little Pony'_ first came about. Thinking back, I probably still have a doll or two of old Pinkie with her colors reversed.

I just don't want to lie to her. Who would? What if she makes me make a Pinkie Promise that could lead to her finding out about Darcy and I? What if Pinkie finds out that Darcy is a serial killer known in every dimension she's been to as _'The Pin Point Killer'_ , named as such because she was always able to find the right vein that made her victims bleed out in seconds? Or what if she finds out about Dark Morgan-

"Raspberry?" A voice said, cutting thru my thoughts.

"What?" I stopped, my head shooting up to see Spike looking at me with a brow raised.

The dragon shrugged. "Whadda ya think happened to Fluttershy?"

I blinked, looking up to see Applejack and Pinkie staring at me. "Fluttershy took the frogs here, that much I can say. The rest has not happened yet, so I don't know."

"But, Ah thought ya said ya knew everythin'?" Applejack asked.

"I do. It's just..." I shrugged, trotting off towards the Bog. "It's confusing. I can see twelve different endings for today _at least_. I can't see which one is the One." I said, various theories of today running across my head. Half of them deadly.

You should be proud. It could've been two thirds.

I looked down to see Spike's worried face. "Hey, don't worry. We're all gonna be okay."

"You're sure?" Spike asked.

"Rule Five. I never guess." I smiled.

"I hope you're right, for Fluttershy's sake." Applejack commented, pausing between a break into the trees. "Look! There's Froggy Bottom Bog!"

I placed the gas mask on my face, trying not to snicker.

*click* Only five.

"Why are you wearing a gas mask?" Twilight asked, apparently having noticed it.

" _Are you my mummy?"_ I asked, grinning like mad.

The others began looking around, calling for Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy?" Applejack called out.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie shouted.

While the others were searching, I went over my plan in my head. If only I could remember my lasso training from a century ago...

*gasp*

"Fluttershy! You're okay!" Spike cheered.

Looking over thru my tinted lenses, I saw Spike hugging a confused Fluttershy.

"Of course." Fluttershy nearly whispered.

Applejack sighed. "What a relief."

Pinkie smiled, looking like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. "I'm so glad everything's alright."

" _And that nopony was hurt."_ I added.

Twilight, ever the doubtful, smirked proudly. "Sorry, I know it's not nice to gloat but... AHA!"

Spike fell into the bog. That was when I noticed the Hydra, and the smoke.

Twilight continued. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, and I was right. Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was a *cough* doozy, and *cough* and the only *cough* doozy here is how right I am."

Applejack backed towards Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike. Meanwhile, I was nife and safe on solid ground. "Um... Twilight?" Applejack started.

"Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today but *cough* ugh, what is that smell?" Twilight coughed. "But what we've shown here is that there's no point in believing [cough] in anything you can't see for yourself.

Spike gulped. "W-well t-then, s-see what's b-b-behind you, Twilight!" He pointed up at the hydra.

*growls*

"I see it... But I don't believe it!" The sceptic gaped.

"*ROAR**ROAR**ROAR**roar*" His four heads shouted.

"Is that a hydra!?" Pinkie screamed.

"Who cares? RUN!" Applejack suggested.

They all screamed. I began running. The others followed soon after.

*whimper*

Looking back, I saw Pinkie frozen in fear while watching the hydra.

Sparkle of Twilight had noticed it too. "Pinkie! Come on!" Twilight grabbed the pink pony's tail.

"Ooph!" Pinkie said as Twilight carried her away from the hydra.

After another minute of running, we came up to a dead end.

"Everypony up that hill!" Twilight instructed.

The mares and drake nodded. Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all ran up. Spike would've too...if he wasn't trapped in swamp muck."

"He-e-elp!" Spike called out.

Twilight gasped. "Coming, Spike! Hang on!" She began turning back.

" _I got 'um!"_ I said, grabbing my rope that I had tied into a lasso and tossed the end at Spike.

The rope wrapped around the dragon. With a tug, I pulled Spike back to our group.

" _That is why it pays to bring a rope."_ I said, patting Spike on the back and loosening the rope around him. _"Now run!"_

*growl* The hydra growled. I had narrowly stopped it from eating Spike.

Twilight Sparkle was panting. "I think we're gonna make it."

"But Pinkie's still shuddering!" Spike pointed out.

Pinkie Pie, still running, was in fact shuddering. It suddenly stopped. "Oh, lookie there, it stopped." As quickly as if left, it started again. "O-h-h-h, t-h-e-r-e i-t i-s a-g-a-i-n."

Sad to say, the group soon ran into a large gorge. The only way across was the cleverly placed boulders that were far enough apart so that a non-flying pony could get across safely. If Rainbow Dash was here, she would've been able to carry us all across.

" _Everypony, stick together!"_ I ordered, grabbing the bungee cords.

Running towards the trees, I tied one cord around one. Thankfully I had purchased ten cords. I wrapped a second cord around another tree. Using the remaining eight, I connected the two trees while using the bedsheet as a giant holder.

" _Now, get in the bedsheet!"_ I shouted to all of them.

The four didn't need to be told twice. They all ran into the large bedsheet, piling in it quickly as the hydra climbed the hill.

I began pulling it back like a slingshot with my magic.

"B-u-t w-h-a-t a-b-o-u-t y-o-u?" Pinkie asked, shuddering.

" _Rule 26: I always have a plan!"_ I said, releasing the sling shot.

The four were all slung onto the other side of the cavern, completely safe with hopefully only a few scratches.

Turning around, I saw the second biggest hydra I have ever seen.

" _Hiya."_ I waved, pulling the slingshot apart with my magic. _"Who wants to play fetch?"_

My magic grabbed a dead log, lifting it up towards the hydra's heads. It began panting like a dog, thankfully. I waved the log across the faces, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Fetch!" I shouted, throwing the log with my magic back towards where Fluttershy put the frogs.

The hydra ran after it, apparently excited at the new chase.

" _That should take care of him."_ With that, I began hopping along the path towards my friends.

" _Everypo- Woah."_. I ripped the gas mask off and placed it back in my saddlebag. "Everypony alright?"

Twilight gaped at me. "How did you do that? I mean, that thing didn't look like it would be able to fling us all the way over here!"

"I used simple logic a reasoning. I had to spread the bungee cords far enough apart so that once it adjusted to the weights of four mares and a dragon it would be able to move you a certain distance. The distance I rightfully judged as being the amount needed." I gestured to them all. "You all came out unscathed, and the hydra lost interest in us."

"But, what about you? Why didn't you come across with us?" Fluttershy asked.

"If I did, then the whole thing would've been thrown off. Plus, I needed to make sure the hydra didn't follow us across." I smirked. "I told you guys. I always have a plan, because I always know."

Twilight sighed, letting out a small chuckle. :I don't know how it happened; coincidence, dumb luck, or what, but you said there'd be a doozy here at Froggy Bottom Bog, and I'd say we just had ourselves one heck of a doozy. I mean that hydra-"

Pinkie shuddered

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked worriedly.

The mare shrugged. "That wasn't it." Pinkie said simply.

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

Spike raised a brow. "What wasn't what?"

Applejack joined in on Spike's brow raising. "What are you talking about, Pink?"

"The hydra wasn't the doozy." Pinkie explained. "I'm still getting the shudders." To prove it, Pinkie shook. "Oo-o-oh, oo-o-oh. You see? There it is again. Whatever the doozy was at Froggy Bottom Bog, my Pinkie Sense says it still hasn't happened."

"Makes sense." I commented. "That wasn't my weirdest Tuesda-*yawn*"

Twilight's eye twitched. "Huh? But I- WHAT?! The hydra wasn't the doozy?! How could it not be the doozy?! What could be doozier than that?!"

Pinkie shrugged. "Dunno, but it just wasn't it."

Any second now...

"Rrrgh..." Twilight growled right befoRE BURSTING INTO FLAMES!

*click*

"Alright, seriously, what _is_ that?" Applejack asked.

"No idea." I lied, placing the camera back into my saddlebag. Four left.

The flames soon died out, leaving a slightly charred purple unicorn floating in midair.

"I give up." Twilight resigned.

"Give what up, Twi?" Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head, slumping next to a rock. "The fight. I can't fight it anymore. I don't understand how, why, or what, but Pinkie sense somehow... makes sense. I don't see how it does, but it just does. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean its not true."

"Y-y-y-you m-m-mean you b-b-b-believe?" Pinkie stuttered.

The unicorn nodded. "Eyup, I guess I do."

The next moment was a little confusing, but all I clearly remember was Pinkie inflated into the size of a beach ball.

"That was it. That's the doozy!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"What? What is?" Twilight asked, sounding hopeful.

Pinkie walked up to the purple pony, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You believing. I never expected that to happen. That was the doozy, oh and, oh what a doozy of a doozy it was! La-la-la-la-la..."

With that, our adventure at froggy Bottom Bog was complete.

And, I was ready to fall asleep with exhaustion.

==DMLB==

The walk home was... tiring. I was barely able to keep my eyes open the whole way. By the time I made it to the house, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack had offered to let me stay at one of their houses. I had to decline, of course.

The sun was starting to set, and so far neither Lilac nor my sister has come home.

If I wasn't so tired, I would be so pissed off at Killjoy.

Ah, speak of the devil.

Killjoy walked into the house. Her whole body was covered marked in some way. Her hooves were covered in small bumps. Her wings were full of twigs and branches, as well as the occasional sticker (those really small plants that are covered in points and dig into your flesh). Her cutiemark had a bandage wrapped around it.

Her mane was much more unkempt than it was this morning. From once glance, I saw maple leaves, two sticks, and some left ear had a bandage on it.

"...hey." I said, stretching out one of my hooves.

"Zup." Killjoy said, trotting towards the kitchen. "Did you get a picture of Twilight on Fire?"

"...*yawn*...it's on the camera. It's got room for... *yawn*...four more pictures." Stretching my hooves out for just a second longer, I placed them in front of me like a pillow.

I heard a drawer closing. "Hey, Razz, are you okay? You seem tired."

"I...am... _wide_ awake." I yawned.

"Well, then you will be mad to learn I took a bit of a crash into the Everfree Forest. The zebra patched me up. By the way, what does the warm feeling in my chest mean?" Killjoy said, walking up next to me.

"...mhh...don't know..."

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. I dropped some spiders on Rainbow Dash today."

"...mm...funny..."

"I killed Carrot Top and buried her in her own carrot garden."

"...yay." I yawned again.

Killjoy slammed her blood red hoof on the ground. "That's it. You're going to bed."

"...what?" I asked slowly.

"You. Bed. Now."

"No." I groaned, slumping in my seat.

"See? If you were awake, you would be making a sexual joke, and usually you make some kind of comment when I come home covered in bug bites!" My little sister explained. "You are exhausted and need sleep!"

"But-" I started.

"NO BUTS!" Killjoy shouted. "YOUNG LADY, YOU ARE GOING TO YOUR ROOM AND NOT COMING OUT UNTIL I THINK YOU HAVE GOTTEN A PROPER AMOUNT OF SLEEP!"

I blinked. Climbing out of my chair, I stumbled towards the stairs. It got easier after a few seconds, looking over I saw Killjoy holding me up with her wing.

"Why... are you... being... so nice... to me today?" I asked.

Killjoy kept her annoyed face, helping me up the stairs and towards my bedroom. "Lilac's a good kid, and one day she'll have to find out about Jumping. I know you're worried about that, because whenever you get worried about Jumping a vein in your neck sticks out, I call him Thomas, so I thought I would give you less to worry about."

During her speech, Killjoy had carried me to my bed and lied me down in it. She bit the edge of the blanket and pulled it over me, tucking me in like I was a kid.

"Go to bed. I'll handle Lilac when she gets home. I know where the Sap Brush is, and some gems in a cupboard. I went to this quarry and dug some up. You'll be surprised what kinda stuff I found."

"...night..." I yawned, snuggling up against the covers.

"Night Morgue." Killjoy said as she walked away and closed my door.

Finally...some...shut...ey...e...

 _zzz_

 _zzz_

 _zzz_

==DMLB==

Soon after I drifted off to sleep, I started preparing it for Princess Luna's arrival. Around the time I learned Lucid Dreaming I taught myself how to start dreaming as soon as I drifted off to sleep. It was a necessary trick when dealing with a nightmare monster that would kill you in your sleep.

The dream was gonna be fun tonight. The scenery was very quick to put together. It took all of three seconds. The house, the tree, all of it.

Double checking my outfit, I watched as the other characters manifested themselves. Killjoy, check. Twilight Sparkle, check. Rainbow Dash, check. Gleaming Armor, check. Bolero, check. Celestia, check. Lilac, check. They were all wearing their assigned outfits or accessories. Now, all that was needed was-

Ah, speak of the princess.

Princess Luna appeared in just over the large fence. She looked around the empty space as Killjoy, Spike and I got into position.

I glanced at my twin sister. Killjoy was dressed in purple overalls, a cream colored undershirt, and black and white sneakers. I was dressed in a orange and white striped shirt, jean shorts, and matching black and white sneakers.

Luna's dress appeared in seconds. It was hot pink and had a white undershirt. She had a giant pink bow now resting in her powder blue mane. She looked over at me with a brow raised.

"So, Killjoy, what do you wanna do today?" I asked her.

The pegasus shrugged.

"What about Lilac, what does she wanna do?" I asked.

Lilac hissed lazily.

"Well, she's a dragon, they don't do much. I for one, am starting to get bored, and boredom is something of up with which I will not put! The first thing they're gonna ask us when we get back to school is 'what did we do over the summer?'. I mean, no school for three months. Our life should be a roller coaster! And I mean a good roller coaster, not like that one we rode at the state fair." I told Killjoy. "Man, that was lame. Why, if I built a roller coaster, I would..." My face brightened with the idea. "That's it! I know what we're gonna do today!"

In a blink, Killjoy and I were surrounded by various blueprints and drawboards. We got to work on our rollercoaster.

"RASPBERRY! KILLJOY!" Gleaming Armor yelled from the house.

She ran outside with an angry glare on her face. Her favorite outfit (a red tank top, white skirt, red belt, white and red sneakers). "Mom says I'm in charge, conditionally."

I nodded. "Whatever."

Gleaming smirked. She was about to go into the house when she noticed the various blueprints.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing?" Gleaming asked.

"Homework." I lied, scribbling on the blue paper.

"It's summer." Gleaming deadpanned.

"That's cool, you wait till the last minute then." I said smugly.

"Well, I'm watching you." The white unicorn glared at the two of us. "And I'm in charge, conditionally." Gleaming added, going back into the house.

I smirked, looking back to see Luna still watching us from the fence.

I have got to do Phineas and Ferb more often.


	15. Cloudsdale Here I Come

_Killjoy/Darcy_

Mornings. The time when the sun first touches to earth and reveals the stories of the darkness. The time when I usually get arrested or hungover, or both. When Morgan would storm into my room and make me clean whatever mess I had left on the living room couch (usually a dead body, other times it was some leftover spaghetti I ate on the couch).

Today was a fun day. Raspberry had been otherwise incapacitated for the past six days. She had been exhausted when I found her last week, nearly falling asleep multiple times in our conversation. I had rarely seen Raspberry like that. Rarely, being a key word.

There have been times in the four decades I have known her that she has been like this. It's just never been this bad before. I blame those fucking ponies.

Sadly, I had to play the part of caring guardian while my sister was on bedrest. I had to explain to Cheerilee why Raspberry couldn't show up for those days of work. I had to explain to Lilac why her mother wasn't able to be spoken with.

Surprisingly, my job gave me two nights off so I could watch my niece. Those guys were really nice. The sap baths I had to give Lilac...ugh. How do you even _get_ covered in sap while tending to a chicken coop?! The things my niece gets involved in...

Damn. That is still weird to think. I'm the one who gets all the sex, and yet Morgue ends up with a kid?

 _Side Note: Find a stallion and see if what they say about studs is true._

Strange family dynamics aside, Raspberry had been doing very well with her bedrest. I only heard her get up twice and I'm pretty sure it was just for bathroom breaks. It was weird being the responsible twin. Usually when I have this, I find whoever harmed Morgan enough to leave her incapacitated and slit his throat. Forcing her to lie in bed and sleep is close enough.

Since the unicorn will be like this for another day or two, I'm the one who will have to perform today. Morgue said something about a giant race. She also pointed out that it wasn't like the Running of the Leaves (I totally won that, by the way. Got the blue ribbon to prove it), it would require the participant to use their wings to perform pretty fucking awesome stunts.

Raspberry spent the past day drilling _(well, sleeping, but she left me things so I could study)_ today's plan into my head.

Step 1) I will go the library and find the Cloud-Walking Spell.

Step 2) Raspberry will cast a cloud-walking spell on Lilac.

Step 3) I will take Lilac up to Cloudsdale.

Step 3.5) Buy Raspberry and/or Lilac a fun souvenir.

Step 4) We will go to the coliseum made of clouds.

Step 4.5) I will not participate in the event.

Step 4.5.5) I can get food if Lilac and/or I are hungry.

Step 5) I will take pictures of Rainbow Dash making the Rainboom and the subsequent saving of Rarity (the prissy little snob, for those who didn't know)

Step 6) When things were peaceful, I will take Lilac back to the ground.

Step 7.5) Do not drop Lilac on the way down. Raspberry wants her daughter, not a pancake.

Step 8) Show Razz the pictures and deliver the souvenir.

That was the jist of it anyway. I'm not always good with scheduling.

"Aunt Killjoy!" Lilac shouted.

Crap. I'm late.

==DMLB==

The flight to the library was a short one. Thanks to my basic attitude, I was ignored by any ponies. That, or they all caught sight of my cutiemark ignored me.

This wasn't the first time. But, let's not talk about that. I don't know why I'm explaining this like there are people reading. Maybe I'm writing my autobiography.

Landing in front of the library, I thought about what Twilight might say when I get inside.

It was no secret that I had drugged Applejack months back, preventing her from working any longer. This caused a bit of a...rift between the other members of the so called Mane 6. And by riff, I mean they ignored me the moment I showed up. While it was great, seeing as how I didn't want to hang around a bunch of colorful and peaceful horses, it was annoying when Morgan sent me out for food and I came across one or more of them. I swear, she does it just so I have a chance to apologize.

With the grace and precision I have learned from decades as a brutal psycho killer, I opened the front door to the library. The ponies inside (the white one (Yes, I know that sounded racist), the pink one, Applejack, and the one Raspberry messes with every chance she gets) were all gathered near the center.

Now, Raspberry's note said I needed to find a blue book with two thick golden rings on the sides. That should be completely impossible to find.

"Thank you so much for helping me clean up all these books, guys." The reader of the group said, pushing a book into a shelf with her magic. Watching her push it in reminded me of (not sex, but it is now) when I had magic. Dang, those were some fun days. "It was a crazy weekend of studying."

This chick studies on the weekends?! What the- heck is that screaming? And why am I not causing it?

The screaming got louder and louder until a familiar rainbow colored shape burst from a window and crashed in the middle of the library. The force of her fall was so great, it knocked off the books off their shelves. Haha, cartoon luck.

I managed to push myself up into the air just before Rainbow Dash crashed. It was really funny to see them all buried under piles and piles of books.

The yellow one (okay, that also sounded racist) flew up to the window, apparently oblivious to this whole thing. "Rainbow, you rock. Woohoo." She whispered, waving a hoof gently. The pegasus opened her eyes to see the wrecked library. She recoiled. "Did my cheering do that?"

' _That was cheering? I killed mute people that made louder noises!'_ I thought, trying to find the book, ignoring the conversation going on towards the side.

If this is how my day is gonna go, I might just ignore the Plan and do what I want. But I can't, Morgue would kill me. She's not usually violent, unless you do something she specifically told you not to do. It's hard being a smartass, when your sister is a bitch.

Morgue has a long list of rules. Because I am a part of her group, I have to follow some of those rules. A third of the Rules are just weird encouragements. Another third is rules from Horror Movies. The last third is things Morgan (or I) have added because of personal experience.

With my unusual job, I was given my own set of rules. I can't kill her associates. I can't kill her family. I can't kill anyone that Morgan's coworkers know. Bullshit.

Damnit. I'm going off topic. That's a bad habit.

Now, where is this spell book...

It's in the large pile isn't it? Based on your silence, I take that as a yes.

Fuck. My. Life.

==DMLB==

Three hours and one theft later, I had the spell that Razz wanted. Hopefully Sparkle won't notice this book is gone. Then again, it's a library. That'll be my excuse in case I get caught.

Opening the door to our house, I made sure to be very quiet. Morgan hates it when someone accidentally wakes her up. Flying up towards her room, I pushed the door open with the skill of a mother coming to surprise her kid. Even though I don't usually like to admit that I have one, my heart shook when I saw the state her room was in.

Let me explain how my sister's brain works: If you don't need it, toss it aside for later. The normal for her was to have things thrown across the floor. To have to be careful where you step. She was always saying that people with messy rooms have higher intelligence, but I think it was just her being lazy.

Her room the cleanest I have ever seen her clean it. Usually her mother, maid, or me would clean it, which I find ironic (I'm the serial killer and I'm cleaning her messes). All the clothes (which apparently ponies needed) were tucked away nicely. My own dress for that stupid dance was hidden in a closet, so I wouldn't break it. All the things belonging on a desk were on her desk.

There weren't even any papers thrown about. No plans that she had been working on only to throw it out, or a list of supplies she needed, or a list to help her keep track of what she has done/needs to do.

Lying in bed, looking like she hadn't even gotten up since I did, was Morgan. I could make out the pink horn jutting out from the blankets. Had this been any other Place, I would've embarrassed her with her _'morning wood'_.

Shaking my head, I trotted up to the now unicorn.

"Razz."

The unicorn didn't move.

"Razz, get up. I need your unicorn magic-y thing."

Still no movement.

Checking to make sure Lilac wasn't around, I sighed. "Morgan, get the fuck up."

There was a small groan.

"I know you want to stay in bed." I rolled my eyes. Was this what I was like on my bad days? "But you are already behind schedule, or did you forget that it was Tuesday?"

It hadn't taken me long to figure out how things worked here. Tuesday had quickly become a day to look forward to. Especially because Tuesday meant Raspberry was too busy to notice me pranking Rainbow Dash.

My big sister groaned. "Just give me the spell and Lilac." She yawned.

Man, my sister was a wreck. I've seen her with broken arms and legs, but she has never looked this bad.

She managed to hid it these past few weeks, but if you looked closely you could still see the bags under her eyes. Now that I think about it, when was the last time I saw her without baggy eyes? She had them when she came to get me from _'Scream'_. She had them when I learned how to drive. Looking back, I don't think I've ever seen her without them.

Giving her the spell, I flew towards the school to pick up Lilac. She might like these kinds of things.

My sister was making herself a wreck, all for a bunch of idiots. I couldn't care less about these guys. It was their fucking fault. If any of them actually paid any attention to what was going on in their lives, my sister wouldn't feel a need to fix it. I had told her to ignore them, and just enjoy watching TV, but she would always get guilty.

No. Can't get angry. If I show up at a school angry, I might leave in hoofcuffs.

' _Hoofcuffs?_ ' I shook my head. These pony sayings were getting to me.

When Raspberry becomes my sister again, I'm gonna ask to go Home. Maybe then I can wash the stench of Pony Kindness off of me.

==DMLB==

It wasn't for another hour that I was able to see Cloudsdale. It really did look cool. I have to wonder though, about the plumbing. Weren't clouds supposed to evaporate in the sunlight? Were these enchanted? Magical clouds that didn't evaporate in sunlight?

"Wow." Lilac gawked from my back. "This place is amazing!"

I tilted my head, seeing all the various pegasi flying about. There was one for almost every bright and neon color. Maybe one or two gray ones. I guess it's not that shocking to see, since they control weather. Why is it that in all my forty years of life, horses with wings controlling the weather seems the most normal?

Has Jumping around with Morgan changed me? Have I been dulled to surprises? I hope not. Angry Shock is the best kind there is!

"Auntie Joy!"

"Huh?"

"Building!" Lilac warned, hiding behind my head.

"Wha-AH!"

I avoided the building, missing it by inches. Though, I wondered how a cloud building would hurt to fly into. Probably not that bad, right?

"Mommy says it's important to pay attention." Lilac told me.

"And then she notices a butterfly." I joked.

Lilac giggled. "She notices butterflies a lot." The giggling stopped. "Auntie Joy, why did Mommy have to stay in bed all week?"

I shook my head, groaning. "Your mom never sleeps, so I made her sleep."

"Apple Bloom told me Zecora has a potion that helps with sleeping!" Lilac cheered. "Could we give it to Mommy?"

I chuckled. "Razz never takes any potions without knowing what's in it."

Flying a little farther, I landed in what seemed like a shopping district. Lilac jumped off my back, allowing me to relax since having her there was a literal pain in the back. She walked up so I could see her face.

"Now, Li, remember. If you get hurt, Momma Razz will apply multiple methods of torture to me." I reminded the dragon.

Lilac giggled. "I know Auntie Joy!" She skipped so that she was skipping backwards. "When can we see a store? I wanna see the store!"

My head shook. She was a lot like Morgan. "I don't know, never been here before."

"Miss Cheerilee says a lot of pegasi live here. Did you live here Auntie Joy?" Lilac asked.

"Nope." I grinned. "Though I admit, it is nice to have some cloud beneath my...hooves. My hoof kicked up a tuft of cloud. "Clouds feel like cotton and feathers."

Lilac stopped skipping, stomping the cloud beneath her foot. She smiled. "Clouds feel like being hugged by a butterfly while lying in fresh snow."

"Wow. That was...really good." I said, finally noticing a shop.

"Miss Cheerilee says I'm really good at-"

"Hey look, a store!" I pointed out.

"Oh! Let me see!" Lilac cheered excitedly, running into the building.

I shook my head. That girl is so much like her mother.

==DMLB==

"Can I get this?"

"No."

"How about this?"

"No."

"This one is really really _really_ sparkly!"

"No."

"Can I get this? It's so fluffy!"

"Li, your mom said I could get you a souvenir. Not frilly sparkle pink toy, book, or necklace."

The purple dragon sighed, falling dramatically onto her back. "But Auntie Joy!"

"Lilac, no." I said sternly, looking over the latest thing she decided to grab.

It was a large stuffed bear. Definitely bigger than Lilac by at least three inches. It was pink, and not even a nice kind of pink. It was a hideous shade that was used on hookers. The eyes weren't those usual eyes, but orange derp eyes. The mouth had a tongue sticking out.

I shook my head. That thing would give me nightmares. "Go take it back." Lilac frowned, preparing to give me Sad Eyes. "Kid, you got five seconds before I take that thing away and put it back."

My niece frowned, lowering her head. "Yes Auntie." Then she walked off, the bear sagging behind her.

Don't get me wrong, I ain't got nothing against getting her a toy. I was born in a world where dolls came to life! I may have gotten all C's in high school, but even I knew not to get a doll that was creepy.

Turning over to the area where I was looking, I thought over what Raspberry would like. My sister is a picky person, so it would have to be good. Something that she'll be able to use later. Something that is so vague about it's real use that it can do anything.

Fuck. I wish I had more brains.

"Auntie! Can I get this cool hat?" Lilac asked.

Turning back to the dragon, I saw her wearing what looked like a traditional ball cap. It was white like a cloud, with two pegasus wing sticking out from the sides. A symbol of a what I can only guess is for Cloudsdale was on the front.

I shrugged. "Sure. It does look kinda cool."

Lilac squealed. "Thank you!"

"Thank your mom, it's her bits." I smirked.

"What are you gonna get?" Lilac asked.

"Haven't decided yet." I admitted, moving some stuff around with my hoof.

"Maybe you should get a hat too!" Lilac cheered.

I chuckled. "Your mom doesn't really like hats. She says they mess up her hair."

"But aren't you getting yourself something?" Lilac asked, sounding a little upset.

"The only thing I want can't be sold in any store." I said, picking up something that looked alright for Raspberry.

"Aww! That's really sweet!" Lilac said before hugging me.

Buying a guy I can murder is sweet? Man this kid is cool!

Lifting the gift out of the bin, I walked towards the checkout counter with Lilac still hugging me.

I really hope Morgan tells Lilac about Jumping. That'll be a great bonding experience. How fucking awesome would it be to show up to a fight with a girl that can breathe fire?

==DMLB==

The colosseum was _huge_.

It did look a lot like the one from Rome. Instead of impossible to climb stairs, you just flew to the seat you wanted. The pegasi used some clouds, bunching them together and placing them all over the place. Except for the large opening in the middle which I guess was for the Main Event.

Lilac and I sat across from where I guess the white alicorn would sit. A huge statue for her was built above it, and her cutiemark.

I had used some more of Raspberry's bits to buy some snacks. Lilac was holding a large soda, drinking from it like she was dying of thirst. I was eating some popcorn, waiting for something exciting.

"When is it gonna start?" Lilac half-groaned.

"I don't know." I half-groaned, munching on the popcorn. "But I hope it does soon. This is starting to get effing boring."

"Effing?" Lilac asked.

My eyes widened when i realized I almost swore in front of a kid. "It's a grown up word. For grown-ups only."

"Why?" Lilac asked.

"Because grown-ups know what it means." I answered. "Your mom would tell you to only use a word if you knew what it meant."

Lilac titled her head. "Mommy says you use words that you don't know all the time, Auntie Joy."

"Well duh." I started to smile. "Raspberry knows what everything, it's not my fault I didn't get more brains."

"Did Mommy take you brains?" Lilac asked, eyes wide.

"Yep." I grinned. "Your mom is the brains of this outfit."

"What does that mean?" Lilac asked.

"I have no idea."

"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!"

The two of us looked across the stadium, seeing the alicorn walk out onto the balcony. Beside her were two pegasus guards, dressed in golden armor.

"Auntie Joy it's the Princess!" Lilac cheered.

"I can see that."

"Remember when the Princesses came to our house?" Lilac asked excitedly.

"Your mother was not very happy when she found out I was with them for a long period of time." I laughed. "Of course I remember."

"Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition: the Wonderbolts!"

Six ponies flew from behind the announcer. Smokes trails came from their tails. It was like a bunch of fighter planes on Earth. One was an orange maned pegasus that I had seen a few posters of from around town. The same for the dark blue maned pegasus and the white maned one. I didn't know much about the other three.

The crowd went nuts when these pegasi appeared, stomping their hooves on the clouds seats and waving them in the air.

"And now," The Announcer yelled, regaining the attention of the crowd. "Let's find out who will take the prize as this year's best young flyer!"

==DMLB==

An hour had passed. Almost everypony had gone, except for the last two. Number Fifteen and Number Four. I made sure the camera was out, so I could take the pictures Raspberry wanted me to.

"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen!"

Rainbow Dash came out from the curtain, looking more scared than Fluttershy. She was practically curled up into a ball. Her eyes (which were already hard to see from back here) were the size of cartoon pinpricks.

Then, another pony came out from the curtain.

Oh.

My.

God.

"Uhh... And apparently contestant number four..."

Rarity had been spending over an hour doing here makeup. She wore a large skirt with pink and purple cloth made to look like wings, and light green designs. The skirt connected to the purple front, with green fluff. On her front hooves were pink bracelets. In her head was a headdress, a purple covered on the base of her horn and pink feathers going back.

Her face had more make-up than...than anything really. Her hot pink lipstick could be seen from the moon! The same for her pink ball earrings.

The two ponies flew close to each other, having what looked like a conversation before Rarity flew off. Rainbow Dash looked ready to puke.

Music began to play. Cheap, girly music that I expect to hear in a Barbie movie. Rarity began to dance a ballet, using her wings to make the jumps easier.

"What the fuck?" I whispered.

Rainbow flew around some cloud pillars. Overall, it was kinda impressive. It worked up until the last one, where she slammed into the coliseum.

The pegasus shook it off, flying up to three clouds just floating overhead. She began flying around them in circles, making them spin like tops.

The last one spun off, hitting Rainbow and bouncing towards Celestia. It poofed away harmlessly. Those guards do not look very happy.

Rarity was still doing her ballet when I looked over at her, but soon she began flying up. Rainbow joined her, flying fast.

"Look upon me, Equestria," The unicorn shouted, "For I... am... Rarity!"

Rarity spread out her wings, the light came through and shone onto the stadium. I felt like I was on the other side of a stain glass window. It wasn't very cool.

The crowd loved it though, and Lilac did too.

"Miss Rarity made a lot of pretty colors from her wings." Lilac commented. "Did she have them yesterday?"

"Nope."

Then, Rarity dropped. Her wings vanishing with a poof.

The Wonderboltz jumped out from their seats, flying down towards Rarity. I tried to get a look at what was happening, but could only see Rarity push the other ponies away. Did Rarity just knock them all out? Impressive.

"Hold on Rarity, I'm coming!" Rainbow Dash suddenly yelled. Wow, I forgot about her for a minute there.

The blue pegasus zoomed past the stadium, I readied the camera.

*BOOM*

*click*

The whole crowd gasped as a very large rainbow appeared beneath us. Rainbow kept flying, leaving a large rainbow trail behind her.

"A sonic rainboom!" A voice cheered. "She did it! She did it! WOOO!"

"Miss Fluttershy?" Lilac asked.

"No way Fluttershy can cheer that loud." I remarked.

*click*

"What was that noise Auntie Joy?"

"Probably the Rainboom." I shrugged off.

Rainbow grabbed the other pegasi, flying back up to the stadium. She made a large rainbow over the stadium. Once she landed, confetti began falling from random places.

I guess Rainbow was made the winner.

==DMLB==

Another hour passed. Rainbow Dash was given a crown winning the race. I used the last photo to take a picture of her with it on.

Lilac and I left Cloudsdale, flying back home as fast as my wings would take us. No offense to the Cloud land, but these was such a thing as too much clouds.

We landed at the front door, the dragon hopping from my back and running inside.

"This was worth missing a day of school!" Lilac cheered, running off to her room.

I smirked. "Anything is worth missing a day of school!" I called out.

Flying up the stairs, I made my way to Raspberry's room. Her door was still shut, but not locked. Flinging the door open, I flew happily into her room.

"Guess who's back from Cloudsdale!"

"Ugh. I was hoping you would get stuck there." A voice joked.

I turned back, seeing Raspberry walking out from the bathroom. Her mane held back in a large towel, her body covered in a blue bathrobe. She grinned.

"Or, did you get back early so you could see me walk out of the shower?" She mocked, trotting over to her desk. "I know that's not why, but I can see you doing it."

"You can actually see me having sex?" I laughed, happy to see my sister being my sister again.

Raspberry rolled her amber eyes. "Not even close, airhead."

"Was that a remark against pegasi?" I mocked, jabbing at her side.

"No." She used a hoof to rub where I poked her. "Your hooves are pointy."

"You're just made a soft squishy stuff, unlike me." I boasted. "You could poke me with a stick and I wouldn't feel it!"

"That's why it's so hard to wake you up." Raspberry commented.

I rolled my eyes. "Here's the camera." Pulling in out of my purple saddlebags, I tossed them over at my sister.

The raspberry unicorn caught them in her amber magic. "Thanks sis."

"Here's the souvenir." I chuckled, tossing her the object I had purchased in Cloudsdale.

Again, the unicorn grabbed it in her magic, she brought it over to her face and gaped at it. "A... photo album?" She gaped.

The picture book had a lot of pages, two pictures would fit on each page. The cover was a hard copy, colored silver like a rain cloud. The pages on the inside were just two shades darker, if Lilac is too be believed. On the cover, I had already named the album. _'Trouble in Ponyville! By- Razzle and KJ'_.

"Sis," Razzle said, her eyes getting all teary. She liked getting deep and meaningful gifts.

"If you start to cry, I will slap you. You know I will." I warned.

Raspberry gestured with her hooves for me to come closer.

"No hugs." I stated.

"Maybe I wanted to slap you." She said, wiping some tears from her eye.

"Why?" I asked.

"You used a pen, and misspelled Ponyville." My twin sister growled, her expression darkening.

"What."

"It's Ponyville. Two _'L's'_ , and one _'E'_ at the end." The grammar Nazi explained. "You wrote _Ponvilee._ "

My eyes widened. "Crap." I flew out of her room.

"KILICUS JOY, GET YOUR PLOT BACK UP HERE!" Raspberry shouted.

"GOOD TO SEE YOU'RE BACK! OOF!" I called back, until I felt something land on my back after a bright flash.

My sister's pink hooves were on my back, pushing me down into the carpet. "Who said I ever left?" She pushed her hoof into my neck.

"Ugh! Don't kill me. I planned on taking Li on a camping trip again." I pleaded jokingly.

Raspberry ignored my pleas. "Stand down."

"Never."

"Say uncle."

"Nope."

"Obey."

"No way."

The unicorn groaned. "Submit."

"You should know better. Darcy Anderson never submits to her partners." I boasted.

"God, you are such a pervert." Morgan sighed.

"Don't call God a pervert!" I scolded.

"I thought you were scared of God." Raspberry laughed.

Her momentary weakness gave me a chance to attack. Pushing my sister off of me, I slammed her back onto the ground like they did in Lion King. Raspberry laughed.

"Got ya." I bragged. "And, I'm not scared of God. It's Buddhist Temples. You know that."

Raspberry smirked proudly, trying to lift my hooves off her own. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. We'll never know."

With a shove, the unicorn pushed me off of her. The two of us slumped to the ground, both a little exhausted. We locked eyes and laughed.

"Good gravy, I don't think we'll ever grow out of this phase." Raspberry said absentmindedly.

"Don't call it a phase, then they win." I automatically said.

"Who's _'they'_?" My twin sister laughed.

"If you don't know, then they've already got to you." I joked.

Raspberry started laughing again. "It's too easy to make you laugh." I commented, starting to laugh myself.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

When I went to bed, I prepared my dreamscape once again. What had happened with Killjoy earlier gave me a great idea for what to do with Luna.

It'll take her some time to find me in it, so I decided to watch from the audience section _(It's my dream, of course there's an audience section)_ until it was time for me to go on.

It started out like the movie did, showing off all the amazing parts. Zecora as Rafiki, that white coated and red maned alicorn I've seen around the forums and art works as Mufasa, Twilight Sparkle as Zazu, Sombra as Scar (He's the only one I could think of), Celestia as Nala, and Luna as Simba.

I watched up until _'I Just Can't Wait To Be King'_. The looks on Luna's confused face was glorious.

Before I knew it, Killjoy and I were playing our part, dumping a bucket of water over Luna's head.

"You okay, kid?" I asked the waking princess.

The blue alicorn filly glared at me, brushing some water off of herself. She opened her muzzle to speak, but her character's words came out.

"Yeah, I guess so." Luna/Simba sighed.

Killjoy gaped. "You nearly died."

"I saved you." I lied.

Killjoy scoffed.

"Well, uh, Killjoy helped. A little." I mended.

The blue alicorn was once again an unwilling participant in her speech. "Thanks for your help." Luna/Simba said dully.

The alicorn got up, walking towards the desert we had just saved her from. The oasis was probably way better a place to dream than a desert.

"Hey, where ya goin'?" I asked her.

"Nowhere." Luna/Simba sighed.

I looked over at Killjoy. "She looks dull."

"I'd say a little more blue than dull. It's a very dark shade of blue I'll admit-" I smacked her skull. "Ouch!" If my sister ever found out how I'd been treating her in my dreams, she would kill me.

"No, no, no, no, no." I repeated. "I meant depressed."

"Oh." Killjoy blinked. She trotted up to Luna, "Hey, kid, what's eatin' ya?"

"Nothing. She's the top of the food chain!" I joked, laughing hysterically. After a moment, I realized Killjoy and Luna were staring at me. "Umm, so where are you from?"

"Who cares? I can't go back." Luna/Simba shrugged.

"Ahh!" I cheered, wrapping a hoof around the filly's neck. "You're an outcast, just like us!" My hoof motioned towards Killjoy. I took my hoof off Luna's back.

"What'cha do kid?" The mentioned pegasus asked. "Kill the Malaysian Prime Minister?"

"No, you did that." I reminded.

Luna only blinked at our antics. She lowered her head. "I did something terrible, and I can't go back."

"Good!" I smiled. "We don't wanna hear about it."

"Come on Raspberry!" Killjoy sighed sadly. She looked down at Luna. "Anything we can do?"

"Not unless you can change the past." Luna/Simba said with an eye roll.

"Razzle's done that tons of times!" Killjoy cheered.

"Do you see the TARDIS around here?" I nearly growled at my sister, annoyed.

The pegasus twirled her head around, then sighing sadly. "No." She smiled, placing a hoof over Luna's back. "You know, in times like these, my buddy Raspberry says _'Ya gotta put your behind, in your past.'_." She rubbed the side of her head. "Umm..."

"No, no, no." I scolded, pulling Luna away from Killjoy.

"I mean..." Killjoy stuttered.

"Lie down before you hurt yourself." I instructed. I looked Luna right in her eyes. "You have to put your past, behind you. Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about them, right?"

"Right." Luna agreed. Her eyes going wide when she realized my dream did not force her to say it.

" _Wrong_!" I bopped her on the nose. Backing away, I made a sweeping gesturing with my hoof. "When the world turns it's back on you, you turn your back on da world!"

Luna blinked. "That doth not sound correct."

"Only because you aren't seeing it the way Killjoy and I do." I said, looking in the corner of my eye and noticing a pony sized blood orange door, just standing in the middle of the desert. Sighing, I looked back at Luna and pretended I did not see the door.

"Repeat after me, _'Hakuna Matata'_."

"What?" Luna asked again, of her own will.

"Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta." Killjoy sounded out, suddenly appearing back in the story. "It means _'no worries'_."

"And boy, do I need a life free of worries." I laughed.


	16. A Voice To Keep Me Safe

"I had a bad dream."

My eyes squinted open, watching the small figure of my four year old daughter. The lights from the hallway were on, so it looked like a dragon was creeping into my room.

She walked into my room, closing the door behind her. Lilac walked up to my bed, gently gripping my bedsheets.

"About?" I asked.

The little dragon scuffled her foot on the floor. "...the cockatrice."

I sighed. Last night, Fluttershy had offered to have the Crusaders sleepover at her house. Rarity was apparently busy with an order.

When I went to pick up Lilac the next morning, Fluttershy had explained to me the events of the night before. How the girls had run into the Everfree to get back a chicken, how they ran into a cockatrice, and Fluttershy Staring the chicken lizard in de-stoning everything it had turned to stone.

I had a picture of stones Twilight on my camera, ready for development.

Lilac was, as I suspected all day, terrified. She had explained what the cockatrice looked like, even going as far as to draw a picture and show it to me. She was really good at drawing.

So, having her come into my room at two in the morning was no surprise to me.

Patting on my bed, I drew back the covers with my magic. "Come on in." I yawned.

The purple dragon wasted no time, hopping into my bed and pulling the covers over her body.

"Wanna talk about it?" I offered. "Talking about your nightmares helps."

Lilac began to shake, just in the way you do after a nightmare. "Me and my friends were playing in the playground. All the other foals were there. Even Diamond Tiara."

"That does sound like a nightmare." I joked. The dragon gave a small smile. That much was easy to tell in the moonlight.

Lilac gulped. "B-but, but then the c-c-cocka-atrice showeded up." She was shaking again. "It started turning everypony to stone. It was making my friends stone. Ms. Cheerilee came outside t-to see w-why we were all s-scream-ming. T-then it g-got S-Sweetie B-Belle. Scootal-loo. A-Apple Bl-oom."

The small child was holding the sheets for dear life. "T-then M-M-Miss F-Flutters-shy came. The cockatrice got her t-too." She sniffled. "A-a-and t-t-then yo-ou ca-came out and-"

Lighting up my horn, I was able to see the tears falling down Lilac's cheeks.

"Hey, Li, it's okay. It's okay. The cockatrice is still in the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy made sure it would never do that to anypony again." I comforted. "She told me." Okay, that part was a lie.

The purple dragon looked up at me, body trembling in fear.

"Cross my heart," I started. "Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. You're gonna be alright."

Pinkie Promise. The dragon had understood that once I made this promise, I would not break it. Ever.

She slowly stopped shaking, cuddling deeper under the covers. The light from my horn acting like a nightlight.

Once she was comfortable, I closed my eyes to lull me back to sleep. The light going out with me.

"Mommy." Lilac whispered, waking me up again.

"Mmm, yeah?" I half groaned.

"C-can you sing me a lullaby?" My terrified daughter asked.

Shaking my head to keep myself awake, I yawned loudly. "Sure. Any preference?"

The dragon shook her head, slowly.

I held back a sigh. Now my tired brain had to come up with a song. "Alright. Give me a second."

There had to be a song that Lilac could go for. The usual lullabies felt unsuitable for this challenge. A showtune? Or maybe a song from a musical? I did like doing that. I did it with my little brother all the time.

Oh. What was the dream I did with Luna? The one that Lilac had just interrupted?

We were doing Tarzan! I wish I could've brought my camera so I could get a picture of Luna as Kerchak.

I took a deep breath. _"Come stop your crying, it will be alright. Just take my hoof, hold it tight."_ I held out my hoof, the dragon immediately grasped it. _"I will protect you, from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry."_

Lilac started cuddling with my hoof, treating it like a security blanket. It was kinda nice, and warm.

" _For one so small, you seem so strong. My hooves will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us, can't be broken. I will be here don't you cry."_

Using my free hoof, I began stroking Lilac's scales. _"'Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and for evermore. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart. Always."_

Her midnight blue eyes began to close. A groggy look on her snout.

I gave a small smile. _"Why can't they understand the way we feel? They just don't trust, what they can't explain. I know we're different, but deep inside us we're not that different at all."_

" _And you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and for evermore. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart, always."_

Her eyes blinked shut, my hoof still rubbing her back. " _Don't listen to them, cause what do they know? We need each other, to have, to hold. They'll see in time. I know."_

" _And destiny calls you, you must be strong. I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on. They'll see in time. I know. We'll show them together._

"' _Cause you'll be in my heart. Believe me, you'll be in my heart. I'll be there from this day on, now and for evermore."_ My voice stayed on it's soothing tone, helping the young dragon stay asleep.

" _You'll be in my heart. You'll be here in my heart. No matter what they say, I'll be with you. You'll be here in my heart. I'll be there always._

" _Always. I'll be with you. I'll be there for you always. Always and always. Just look over your shoulder, just look over your shoulder, just look over your shoulder."_

I gave a small yawn, laying my head against my pillow. The light from my horn vanishing.

"I'll be there always."


	17. Cats and Hats: The Princess Luna Story

**I don't own My Little Pony or Cat in the Hat. They belong to their respective owners.**

"Hey...Morgue..." Darcy said.

I raised a brow at my sister. Her head was down as she trotted into my room.

I had an interesting day. Princess Celestia came to Ponyville, to make up for when the Parasprites came almost three months ago. It was a fun visit.

We had been having some fun weeks in Ponyville, since the Cockatrice. A week after, the Crusaders had a talent show.

As the Doctor once said, _'That fire had nothing to do with me.'_

Oh! Then, Rarity got abducted by Diamond Dogs. I, of course, was kidnapped hours prior. What? Rubies are hard to get!

Before you ask, no. I did not do a single thing to try and escape. I simply explaining to the Dogs that I had no such way of finding gems. Then, I waited for them to get Rarity. Once the unicorn was there, I began having fun.

No dogs were harmed, of course. I just gave them a very violent reminder that no further abductions would be tolerated.

I know. I told Killjoy and she didn't believe me either.

Then there was the thing with Fluttershy. She was a nice model, I will admit. It was fun to see Twilight struggle with Pinkie Promises.

At some point, I remember taking pictures of multiple dresses. They might come in handy later. The same for Spike's _I Heart Rarity_ t-shirt.

Then, the buffalo.

I had to explain Killjoy the the buffalo were the Native Americans of Equestria. This made her laugh, not so much out of mockery but of mirth. She followed me to Appleloosa, and the two of us made friends with Little Strongheart.

Killjoy agreed to send letters, I promised to send photos of the Mane Six(plus Spike).

"Yes?" I asked, almost accusingly. She never came to talk to me, ever. Not even for...ahem... _hygienic reasons._

Darcy kept her head down. "Uhh...can we...go back...to your side?"

"...Why?" She asked to do that even less.

"I wanted to do research?" Darcy lied, blatantly. She was usually very good at this. I wonder what was wrong. Did she kill something?

I motioned for her to continue. "...on?"

Darcy mumbled.

"Speak now, or forever hold your piece." I instructed.

Darcy rolled my purple eyes. "My Little Pony." She grumbled

I couldn't hold back my smirk.

"Don't you start!" Darcy ordered, shaking a hoof at me.

"My pegasus sister wants to be a pegasister." I joked.

"Shut up!" Killjoy growled.

"Aw, come on. That was _pretty_ funny." I laughed.

Her pony face still looking pissed, she cracked a smile. "Yeah, it was kinda funny, _Razzle Dazzle_.

My smile instantly dropped. "Fine. I can take you Home to watch the two seasons and the few episodes of the third. I needed to do more research on the next season anyway. I heard on one of the forums there's talk of bringing back one of the villains for reformation."

I rolled her eyes, trotting towards Raspberry and holding out a hoof. "Pfft. Please. That'll never happen."

*FLASH*

==DLMB==

"And that, Princess Lulu, is why I was late tonight." I explained to the blue alicorn.

The Alicorn raised her brow. "I am...unsure of what you are talking about."

I laughed. "Yeah. Now, on with the show!"

*FLASH*

==DLMB==

 _Luna_

When My eyes opened, I was not in some bleak empty whiteness. Instead, I was in some strange home.

Looking down at myself, I saw I was dressed in an orange sweater with yellow lightning streaks. Over my back hooves were dark orange legwear, I am sure I have seen minotaur's wear this things.

Then, My body was being moved.

I do not know how, but Raspberry has been able to force by body into moving against my will. It was strange, as I had not seen things like it in many centuries.

My dream vessel was dragged down the stairs.

*bark* *bark*

"Shh! Cerberus, stealth mode!" I whispered harshly. My eyes widened when they gazed upon the small form of Cerberus, the three headed dog guarding Tartarus.

"Today's To-Do List." CELESTIA's voice spoke out.

The vessel turned her head, seeing Celestia laid out on the floor. In Her golden magic was a scroll and pen. She was wearing a purple polka dot dress, with green overalls. Her long, flowing, multicolored hair was pulled up into pigtails.

"Number One: Make To-do list. Number Two: Practice Coloring. Number Three: Research Graduate Schools. Number Four: Be Spontaneous. Number Five: Create Lasting Childhood Memories."

All the while, the vessel ran over towards the kitchen.

Internally, I shook My head. The vessel poured out two colanders, each filled with food. Then, she went on to spill over a tray filled with cookies.

The vessel was beginning to yank out the drawers, making the bizarre contents spills out in mass quantities.

The strangest part? This vessel began putting on some of the things yanked out.

When all said and done, there was a colander and teddy bear on my head, strange cakes on my ears and chin, a rug over My chest, bread on my shoulders, popcorn bags on my knees, and more bread on my elbows. Over My front hooves were oven mitts, on My rear hooves were large black monster slippers.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts!" My vessel shouted, having marched up the top of a grand staircase. "Cerberus, your attention please. You are all about to witness, the third most spectacular stunt, ever performed under this roof!"

Celestia walked over to the staircase, the scroll still in her magical grasp. "Do you know how hard it is telling ponies we're related?"

My vessel lifted up a package of bread in her magic, taking out a few slices of white bread. She then proceeded to stuff the small thin slices into the front of her trousers.

"Relax, I'll put everything back." The vessel told Celestia.

She grimaced.

"And now, for the indoor stair louche!" I announced, not in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Indoor Stair Louche?" Celestia rolled her pink eyes, writing something onto the scroll. "I'll have to add this one to my list."

"Go have no fun somewhere else!" The vessel snapped, resting Myself into a baking pan.

I gulped once I realized what was to happen.

==DLMB==

It was raining. This seemed to be another one of those places Raspberry imagined where the weather controlled itself, much like in the Everfree Forest.

Throughout the past two hours, I learned what the setting was for this place. I was Luna, eldest child of Lauren Faust. Lauren was something known as a _'real estate agent'_. Another thing I must inquire about when returning to Canterlot.

My sister, Celestia, was a control freak. The only thing I hath seen her do was write on that silly scroll. She was also a sort of flank kisser towards Our mother, and a know-it-all.

After My Indoor Stair Louche, I ended up crashing onto Lauren's carriage. She stormed into Our home, grounding me on the spot.

I also learnt of a large party that was to occur later this day. Lauren was having all of her important clients over, and it was all very important.

It seemed as though I was a problem child once again.

Lauren Faust was dating out next door neighbor. A yellow unicorn named Flimflam Quinn. He was something of a salesstallion.

What he wanted? To end me off to a Military Academy.

Lauren Faust was summoned back to her office, her boss being something of a perfectionist that sounded awfully a lot like Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood.

An earth pony mare came to the door shortly after Lauren's summoning. A large blue mare, with pink icing hair, a purple jumpsuit, a so called _bingo cap_ and large oversized red glasses.

Lauren instructed the mare to watch over Celestia and Myself. As she left, My vessel yelled how she wished Lauren was not her mother. Sadly, I heard Lauren say she wished the same.

Now, Celestia and I were staring out a window, looking out bored as the foalsitter fell asleep on the couch.

 ***bump***

Celestia and I turned. Our heads looking up towards the ceiling. It was then I was made aware of some mare's voice providing some kind of overhead effect. All in rhymes.

 _(AN: Read this in Zecora's voice)_

' _How that bump made that jump.'_

The two of us went to the stairs, eagerly trying to find the noise.

"I think it came from the closet." My vessel spoke.

I walked up the stairs, My eyes locked on the white wooden door. It shook as the creature behind it knocked furiously.

My mind flashed to the last time I tried to open a door hear. Could this be that same nightmare? Disguising her door, if only to avoid detection? Or was this a part of Raspberry Stardust's game?

All I knew for sure, was that the vessel kept on marching towards it.

Opening it, I peered inside. It appeared to be like a regular closet.

Suddenly, I fell inside.

"Luna?" Celestia panicked. "Luna? Come on Luna."

My vessel threw a monster slipper at Celestia, making the filly yelp.

The filly fell to the floor, an angry expression on her muzzle. My vessel laughed, walking out of the closet.

"You shouldn't scare ponies." Celestia grumbled.

My vessel chuckled. "You shoulda seen you're face it was like you saw a-monster."

Well, it seems I found Raspberry Stardust.

The usual pink unicorn was anything but tonight. She stood on her hindlegs, which looked more like paws. Her coat was still pink, but looked more like fur, and there were two patches of snow white. One over her chest, and one over her face.

Around her neck was a bright red bow tie. On her head was (you guessed correctly) a top hat. This one appeared to be snow white with red stripes.

"A monster?" Raspberry cheered. "Where?!"

Celestia and I screamed.

The two of Us ran past Raspberry, heading down the stairs. We ended up in a closet.

It was very dark, and We were pressed together in this small space.

"What was that?" I asked Celestia.

"I don't know. It looked like a giant cat." Celestia said.

A light suddenly filled the tiny space. We looked back to see Raspberry Stardust sitting behind the clothing.

"I prefer the term _'big boned'_ or _'jolly'_." She smiled. A glad smile on her feline face. "Not what are we hiding from?"

My sister and I screamed again. The door to the closet opened, and We ran out.

We ran up to Lauren's room. Her bed was about five inches off the ground, so We hid underneath.

The two of Us panted.

"That was a giant cat." Celestia panted. Her pink eyes bulging.

"A giant cat?" My vessel compelled Me to say. "But that's impossible!"

"It is impossible!" A third feminine voice cheered.

My vessel turned My head. Raspberry Stardust was under the bed, her body was too long so her head stuck out from the bed.

Her smile kept on. "You know, I like this hiding place a lot better. They'll never find us in here."

Her smile turned. An almost defeated look was on her face. She nodded her head. "Scream and run."

We did as said. The two of Us climbed back towards the door, screaming. It was a wonder to Myself how Mrs. Cake downstairs did not hear the screams.

Once I was removed the underneath the bed, I saw Raspberry Stardust began kicking wildly. It was as if she were trapped under the bed.

"Who are you?" Celestia asked.

"Who?"

Suddenly, Raspberry vanished from under the bed. I gasped, as did Celestia. We turned around to see the pink bipedal cat behind us.

"Me?" Raspberry asked. She grinned, almost smugly. "Why, I'm the Cat in the Hat! There's no doubt about that! I'm a super spectacular feline, who's here to make sure your-" She stopped, her face contorted in confusion.

"Crabapples. I always forget this part." She grumbled. "I'm a pink cat walking on two legs and can talk, that should be enough for you Princesses!" Raspberry then opened the bedroom door, storming out.

My eyes widened. That was one of the few times Raspberry had addressed Us as Princesses during her Dreams.

I followed after her, Celestia was steps behind Me.

I felt the compulsion. "Where did you come from?" I asked.

The cat turned around. A worried look on her face.

"Hmm." She began. "How do I put this?" Even in dreams, I could see the delight in her eyes. Her voice became higher in pitch. "When a daddy cat, and a mommy cat, love each very much, they decide to-"

"No!" I yelled. "Where did you come from?"

Raspberry scoffed. "My place. Where else?" She waved her paws. "Look, I've been here two whole minutes and no one has offered me a drink! Harrumph!"

This seemed to startle Celestia. "Oh! Sorry Miss Cat-"

"Call me Raspberry Cat, Tia."

My sister nodded. "Raspberry Cat, would you like some...milk?"

Her face contorted in disgust. "Ugh. That is just so stereotypical! What, you think that just because I'm a cat I want some milk? How rude!" She said, tilting her nose up. "And, no. I'm lactose intolerant."

Celestia nodded. I tried to hold back a grin. A cat that cannot drink milk? Only in the dreams of Raspberry Stardust.

"How did you get here?" The vessel asked.

"I drove." Raspberry Cat said with an eye roll.

She raised her right foot, slamming it onto a small table next to the closet where I scared Celestia. A slab flew up into the air, flipping in the air until it landed perfectly onto the area just before the first step.

Raspberry Cat grinned, leaping onto the slab.

"Catabunga!" She hollered, pushing down on the slab.

My mind flashed to the Indoor Stair Louche, and how lovely that turned out.

"No wait!" I yelled.

The dreamer fell from the stair, sliding down like it was nothing more than walking.

When Raspberry reached the bottom, she slammed her foot on the edge. It kept flipping over and over, until finally resting back where it had originally been.

"Cool trick, huh?" Raspberry Cat asked from downstairs. "So, nice spread you got here."

My sister and I ran down the stairs, chasing after the large pink cat. The cat was suddenly standing before a picture of Lauren.

"Homina-homina-homina-homina!" She gaped, lifting the picture up to her level. "Who is this?" She pulled the picture down, seemingly revealing something only herself. Her top hat extended, the tip nearly touched the ceiling. "Ohh!"

"That's my mom." The vessel compelled.

Raspberry Cat closed the photo, still keeping it in her paws. "Awkward, yeah." She turned her back to Us, seemingly slipping the photo away underneath her bowtie. "Yes, this place will do quite nicely, actually. Yeah."

She gave Me a peculiar smile, gesturing to a nearby window. "Although those drapes are a train wreck." Raspberry Cat said in a high pitched tone. She walked over to Our couch, where Mrs. Cake slept. Celestia and I followed her. She sat on top of the foalsitter. "And this is the lumpiest couch I ever sat on."

She began jumping, as if to remove the lumps. Who is this dreadfully uncomfortable mare?!"

"Get off her." I requested. "That's our babysitter."

Raspberry Cat stopped bouncing, immediately getting up from the mare. She looked down with shock, pulling out what I believe Celestia called a cloth hanger from behind her back. "What the... Babysitter? You don't need one of those, do ya?"

She put the cloth hanger inside Mrs. Cake's jumpsuit, lifting her off the couch as if she were just another pillow. She began carrying her over to the closet where Celestia and I had previously hid. All the while, the blue earth pony mare was sound asleep.

"Let me get this straight. You pay this mare...to sit on babies? That's disgusting!" Raspberry Cat guffawed, hanging the mare inside the closet. She closed the door with her tail, turning back to the two of Us. "I'd do it for nothing!"

Celestia giggled. My vessel gave a delightful smirk.

"Now, let's see what the old 'phunometer' has to say." Raspberry Cat said, pulling out one of the strangest contraptions I have ever seen.

It was mostly red, and resembled a thermometer. A stethoscope appeared around Raspberry's neck, the tips in her cat ears. There was a strange cut of plunger placed at the end of the contraption, which she held out towards Celestia and I, constantly moving between the two of us.

"'Phunometer'?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah." Raspberry nodded, moving the machine towards Celestia. "It measures how fun you are."

The plunger gripped onto Celestia's head, just below her horn.

Raspberry gripped a ball in her paw. The kind used for checking blood pressure. She gripped it tightly. Soon enough, a ding came from the 'phunometer'.

"Ah. Control freak. Yeah." She said, looking down at a large dial. Then, the cat pointed it at me. "Now you."

There was a ding, and Raspberry smiled. "Ah. You're lonely."

Then, a whimpering sound came from the machine.

"Oh." Raspberry Cat said, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks. "Umm..."

She showed the dial to me, and my eyes widened.

It had four setting in clockwise. The top was Normal. The next was Control Freak. Then there was Homicidal Maniac, which the arrow was pointing right at. The last was Lonely.

"Tap it." I said, staring at the dial.

Raspberry Cat leaned closely, her voice in a whisper. "Listen, kid, you can tap it with a hammer, it ain't gonna change." She gave me a sad look. "Unless you want it to change."

The machine vanished, and Raspberry was grinning widely. "Just as I suspected. You guys are both out of whack." She pointed at Celestia, her claw was seemingly sharp. "You're a control freak." She turned to me. "And you're a rule-breaker. That'll be $700. Who's your insurance carrier?"

"So, what do we do?" My Vessel asked.

Raspberry Cat shrugged. "Well, there are two treatments I'd recommend." She pulled out a syringe from behind her back. One is a series of painful shots injected into your abdomen and knee cap." The syringe vanished, her paws stretched out into a theatrical pose. "And the other...involves a musical number! Me-Me-Me- _Meow_!"

"How many shots?" Celestia deadpanned.

"' _How many shots?'_ " Raspberry wheezed. "Aren't you precious?"

She turned her back, her cat tail pushing Celestia back onto the couch.

Raspberry Cat went over to the window, and I saw it was still pouring rain. Music began to fill the house, coming from an indescribable source. "I know it is wet, and the sun is not sunny."

To prove her point, there was a crackle of thunder.

"But we can have lots of good fun that is funny!"

Celestia and I groaned at her horrible rhyme.

"It's fun to have fun, but you got to know how!"

She coughed, a hairball flying out of her mouth and onto a bust. "Hair ball." She excused.

Raspberry coughed, and continued singing. "I know lots of good tricks and I'll-"

"Stop this right now!" A new voice shouted.

My eyes widened, and I could not hold back my delight. Raspberry always ended up using My Sister's student.

We all turned, seeing a small fish bowl. I had noticed it earlier, but paid it no mind. Now, I see I should have.

Inside was a small fish. It was light purple, with midnight blue fins. I would have thought it as Lilac, if not for the large purple eyes, and purple and pink streak in the head fin. The fish was glaring at Raspberry Cat.

"Remember? The fish?" Twilight Fish said. "Came home in a Baggie, loved me for two weeks, and then nothing!"

"The fish is talking!" Celestia pointed out.

"Well, sure, she can talk." Raspberry Cat said, rolling her amber eyes. "But is she saying anything? No, not really. No."

Twilight Fish did not look very happy. "Hey, can it!" The fish turned towards Celestia and Myself. "This cat should not be here. She should not be about. She should not be here when your mother is out!"

Raspberry Cat scoffed. "Come on, kids! You gonna listen to him? She drinks where she pees!"

The conversation cut off, and suddenly We were standing before the stairs. Raspberry Cat was dressed in a...colorful...fruitful...dress.

I believe this was the musical number she spoke off.

==DLMB==

A considerable amount of time had passed since Raspberry Cat's number. Once it had ended, Raspberry Cat made Celestia and I sign a contract. Nothing bad would happen, so long as We signed.

We had already bounced on the couches Lauren forbade Us to touch. Mr. Flimflam came by, stealing some food from our fridge before returning to his own abode. He was truly despicable.

It was then that I discovered Mr. Flimflam was allergic to cats, as was shown by Raspberry's shedding coat.

Then, Celestia suggested We make cupcakes. Now We are sitting in an audience, with Raspberry Cat.

There was another in the kitchen. Her mane was coiffed, and blonde. She wore librarian glasses. Instead of the red bowtie, there was a colorful sweater. She smiled at the three of us, clapping her paws together.

" _Live from the kitchen,"_ Came another voice, who I could not see. " _The following is a paid commercial announcement for Astounding Products._ "

The Raspberry Cat on stage clapped again. "Hi! Welcome to Astounding Products. I'm your host, the guy in the sweater who asks all the obvious questions."

Raspberry Cat next to Me laughed.

"Now, here to tell us about his astounding product for making cupcakes, all the way from Cheshire, England, please welcome-"

Another Raspberry Cat came out. She wore a large chef's hat, along with an apron.

"Me! Hello!" Chef Raspberry began laughing.

"Now-" Host Raspberry began.

"Hello! I'm so excited!" Chef Raspberry interrupted. "Do you love making cupcakes, but hate all the hard cupcake work?"

"I know I do!" Host Raspberry grinned.

"Well, forget everything you know about making cupcakes...and say hello...to the amazing Kupkake-inator." Chef Raspberry said, pulling onto a small contraption. "I'm so excited!"

"Cupcake-a-what?" Host Raspberry asked.

"Kupkake-inator!" Chef Raspberry, Celestia, and Raspberry Cat yelled.

"Oh, this amazing device can instantly make cupcakes...out of _anything_ that you have in the kitchen." Chef Raspberry explained.

"Wait a minute. Did you say 'anything'?" Host asked.

"Anything." Chef Raspberry answered.

"Anything?" Host repeated.

"Yes, anything." Chef asked. Her tone sounding like she was losing patience with Host.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Anything?"

"I'll get you, and it'll look like a bloody accident." Chef warned, pointing a claw at Host. "Now, take off the lid. You can put in, I don't know, a carton of eggs. What? How about a pack of hay burgers?" The whole time, Chef is placing the foods into the Kupkake-inator.

"That's incredible!" Host cheered.

"Why not some ketchup?" Chef said.

Celestia and Raspberry Cat were laughing hysterically.

"Yeah, why not?" Host shrugged.

"How about... I know what you're thinkin'. Even a fire extinguisher."

Host Raspberry Cat tilted her head.

"There we go. Now, close the lid and Bob's your flippin' uncle!" Chef cheered.

"What an astounding product!" Host said, chuckling.

"Open the drawer, fill the patented Kupkake-inator tray, close the drawer, Then place it in a conventional oven."

Chef picked the Kupkake-inator up, placing it in the large green oven.

I tilted My head. Must all of Your inventions, Raspberry Stardust, be called inator?

"Only the ones that are funny." Raspberry Cat whispered.

My eyes widened. My head turned to see the pink bipedal cat grinning at me.

"Sorry. But, you can't really have private thoughts in my dreams." Raspberry grinned. "While we wait for the oven to preheat, how about you and I have a chat?"

"What are you-"

"I wanted to get you know you." Raspberry smiled. "And, I couldn't find a good enough story line. This was the best one I could find."

Was she...apologizing, for her own dream?

"Yes." Raspberry said.

I raised My brow. _'Will you stop reading Our thoughts?'_

The cat shrunk back, a hurt look in her eyes. "Sorry. I just...haven't really had a friend outside of Killjoy before. I'm not sure how all of this stuff works."

I was slightly surprised, but kept My face stoick. "How what works?"

"Having friends." Raspberry answered. She shook her head. "No, no, no. This dream was about getting to know you." She said, almost to herself. "So, Princess Luna, tell me about yourself." She asked. "If you don't mind, that is."

"You have no friends?" I asked. "Why is that?"

Raspberry rolled her amber eyes. "Because I push them away because it's what I've been doing my whole life. For a long time, I was perfectly fine being alone. Then KJ and I got together and it was hard to get rid of her. When I came to Ponyville, I had a sudden urge to impress the ponies, be their friends. I almost wore myself out. I've been trying really hard to impress you too, and I think it's going well, because you and I both know that you could've gotten everything you needed weeks ago, yet you keep coming back."

I kept My composure, but she had a point.

Raspberry kept on. "Even before I knew about you, you were always my favorite Princess. I loved the night, for as long as I could remember. Night was the only time I wasn't around ponies, the only time I could really be myself. It was exhausting trying to make friends when everypony hates you, and the rest are too busy to hang around you." Her eyes widened. "Damn. You are a good psychologist.

"Now, I have some questions for you. By the way, you can't lie or hide in the Dreams of Raspberry." She warned.

My eyes widened.

Who knows what Raspberry could ask. She could ask about various problems within Canterlot Security. She could ask about how to get into the Canterlot Gardens, where Discord's statue is lying around in wait. She could ask about past failures in Celestia and Mine's past.

"What's your favorite color?" Raspberry asked.

"...pardon?"

"What's your favorite color?" The cat repeated.

"Green." I answered before I could halt myself.

Raspberry smiled. "Favorite season?"

"Autumn." Why wasn't she asking questions Our enemies would?

"Have you read any good books since Returning?"

"I have only read books pertaining to the history of Equestria in the past thousand years." I answered again.

Raspberry smiled. "Chocolate, or vanilla?"

"Chocolate."

"When is your birthday?"

"October 31st is the day of My birth."

Raspberry smiled. "Wow. Now that holiday makes so much sense."

"Holiday?" I asked.

"Nightmare Night." Raspberry Stardust explained. "It's actually really fun. It's my favorite holiday. You get free candy, get to dress up, and you can to scare ponies without getting arrested!" Raspberry smiled, giddily. "It's KJ and I's favorite holiday. It has been for as long as I can remember."

"Truly?" I asked.

Raspberry nodded. "Oh, most definitely." She cleared her throat. "Water or tea?

"Water. My sister prefers tea though."

Raspberry chuckled. "Trust me, I know. Smart ponies tend to like tea. I know of a guy, all he does is drink tea! Seriously. His favorite is ginseng, which I plan on giving to him as a peace offering." She tapped her chin with her paw. "Or, should I- nah. Then I would have to learn how to play."

I tilted My head. "You are a very curious mare, Raspberry."

Raspberry smiled. "Well, you know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat."

I smiled. "Aren't you a cat in this dream?"

Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "Butterscotch. I should really learn those sayings."

"How were you supposed to know cats always land on their feet?" I joked, letting out a small chuckle.

"Did my ears deceive me, or did the Great Princess Luna actually _laugh_?"

I smiled. Then, I tilted my head. "Most of Celestia's ponies are terrified of me. I have tried protecting the dreams of many, yet they end up more terrified when I leave then when I have arrived!"

Raspberry nodded. "Preaching to the choir, Lune."

"Lune?"

"Well, you didn't like Lulu." Raspberry shrugged. "What were you saying, about ponies being scared?"

I nodded, suddenly finding Myself continuing. "When We first arrived at your residence, you treated Me as if I was your friend who had simply come back from vacation."

"You did, technically." Raspberry commented.

I did not respond to her comment. "You treated Celestia and I not like Princesses, but as actual ponies. A select few have done so-"

"And you ended up kicking their asses?" Raspberry commented, chuckling.

Again, I ignored her comment. "So, why have you been treating Us as such?"

"Because, back when I was a kid, I was with ponies who showed me not to look at the Title, but the pony underneath it. Profilers, they were called. I kinda took a lot of their lessons to heart." Raspberry explained, almost nervously. "And when I see you, Luna, I don't see a monster who had to be locked on the moon for a thousand years, I see a mare who just wants to be asked one very important question."

Raspberry held out a pink claw. "Hi. My name is Raspberry Stardust. Will you be my friend?"

"It would be an honor."

"I know, right?" Raspberry grinned, chuckling.

My head turned over, seeing Chef Raspberry Cat and Host Raspberry Cat standing in front of the oven. "How long does this take?"

"Oh!" Raspberry said. "I forgot to un-pause!"

 _*PLAY*_

"Delicious cupcakes are just minutes away!" Chef Raspberry Cat cheered.

"Did you just say 'minutes away'?" Host asked. "That's impossible!"

"You're not just wrong, you're stupid." Chef insulted.

"Now, wait just a minute..." Host attempted to re-control the show.

"And you're ugly, just like your mum." Chef insulted.

Raspberry Cat, Celestia, and I ooh'd.

"Did you just call my mother ugly?" Host asked, sounding uppity.

"This is my favorite part." Raspberry whispered to me.

"Shut up! I mean it! I will end you!" Chef yelled, pulling out a large butcher knife.

She slammed it down onto the table, where her tail just so happened to be.

The three of us ooh'd.

"Um, Raspberry Cat?" Celestia asked. "Your tail." She said, pointing a hoof at it.

"What about it?" Chef asked, looking down at the knife. "Oh, I see! I've chopped it off." She gripped the two parts of the tail, lifting them up. "That's interesting, because..."

Her amber eyes sharpened.

"Son of a bi-"

 _ **BEEP**_

==DLMB==

Celestia and I held each other's hooves, waiting for Lauren to walk through the front door.

The house was a wreck. The insulation had completely fallen out, leaving purple fuzz over everything. Purple splotches of cake mix covered the walls, furniture, and drapes. Broken pieces of glass were everywhere. The living room was a disaster area, as it was the epicenter of the tornado. Mrs. Cake was somewhere in this mess.

The stairs were destroyed. I had a bad feeling the upstairs was even worse than the downstairs. Lauren's dress was covered in cake batter, and no doubt some of the debris.

We had broken Raspberry Cat's contract. My vessel had taken the lock off of a crate, letting her world merge into ours. It was the reason Our house was wrecked. It was the reason Mr. FlimFlam was stars know where.

Somewhere, I heard the dog barking. We had to chase that dog across the neighborhood. This lead to some funny moments from Raspberry Stardust. The contraption called SLOW, previously **S** ystematic **H** ydraulic **I** nstianius **T** ransporter. Then the birthday party of Apple Bloom.

Raspberry Stardust seemed all too eager to become the piñata, until a pink filly came up holding a wooden bat.

Then, once We all made it back to the house, we found it to be a chaotic mess. My mind went back to the Realm of Discord, all those years he was in charge and causing panic.

When the crate was closed, Celestia and I cast Raspberry Cat out. According the script My vessel was using, I was hopeful that the chaos in this dream would not destroy My new friendship.

The doorknob began to shake, and I prepared Myself for the verbal lashing Celestia and I were to receive when Lauren trotted in.

The door slammed open, and I was surprised yet again.

Raspberry Cat was there, on another strange machine. It resembled a tractor. More music began to play.

The pink cat drove the machine into the house, bringing Killjoy 1 and Killjoy 2. Two strange creatures who wore purple hoofie pajamas, had silver perms, and blood red skin. They always did the exact opposite of what they were told. They were driving two more of those tractors that Raspberry Cat had.

"Bet you thought I'd gone." Raspberry Cat sang. "Bet you felt a sting. Bet you never thought I'd have another song to sing!" The machine drove her around the bottom floor of the house, until finally stopping before the door.

I smiled.

"But now that you've learned your lesson, allow me to blow your mind by reading to you the small print of the contract that you signed!" She finished, bringing out the very large contract.

She flipped it towards the middle.

"Okay, section eight, article 93, subparagraph 834." She pointed at the aforementioned article. "Right by the salsa stain."

Sure enough, a small amount of red liquid was put onto the contract.

"It reads, [quote]If Luna, a.k.a. Lulu-kazoo, should open the crate...and we know he will... the contract shall be null and void.[/quote]" Her voice lowered in disappointment.

Our heads lowered.

"[quote]However!"[/quote] Raspberry Cat cheered. [quote]"If Celestia and Luna should learn from their mistakes, the contract shall be reinstated.[/quote] I think you two have satisfied the legal burden of learning."

"Yeah!" Celestia and I yelled.

Raspberry Cat clapped her paws together, looking proud. "So there's just one last game to play. It's called 'Clean Up The House.'"

She patted the machine. "Fillies, meet the D ynamic I ndustrial R enovating T ractormajigger."

"D-l-R-T?" Celestia and I spelt.

"That's right!" Raspberry Cat laughed. "Now, let's the clean the house with dirt!"

Only in the dreams of Raspberry Stardust.

The cat leaned over towards me. "And trust me, Lune, I have an even better idea for next week! How do you feel about Vikings and dragons?"


	18. Thanks From Therapy

Tuesday Afternoon was no more exciting than it had ever been. To be completely honest, I've fallen into a bit of a rut. A monster filled rut. It's not my fault I'm in this rut, it's the town's fault for not putting a sign in front of the rut!

"KJ! LOOK AT YOUR RIGHT!" I screamed.

The blood red pegasus shot off, avoiding the monster's attack. She turned to glare at me, flying right up next to me. "What else is there is this stupid place?"

"Nothing." I lied. "Unless you count the rocks."

Killjoy raised a brow. "Rocks?"

"Rocks!" I pointed a hoof behind my sister. A large rockslide had begun falling down from the sky.

"Ah!" Killjoy and I panicked.

"To the right!" I ordered, dragging the pegasus to our right.

Killjoy grunted, getting back onto her own hooves. "This is all your fault, you know!"

I shook my head. "Well, maybe if somebody listened to me more often we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"No. If somebody hadn't forgotten-"

*ROOAAARRR*

"Monster on the left!" I shouted.

"Thanks Captain Obvious!" Killjoy said with an eye roll, flying away from the monster. "How much longer until we get there?!"

"The map said it's past the monster holes!" I shouted over the roaring monster.

Killjoy groaned. "I hate those stupid things!"

"Oh, giant killer fucking worms are bad, but you were perfectly fine with the thing on the doorstep!" I snapped.

"It was really cool when it died and that guy went insane!" Killjoy argued. "On your left!"

"Gah!" I blasted a stun spell at the monster. "That's enough! KJ, grab onto my hoof! I'm teleporting! We can find them faster this way!"

My little sister grabbed onto my hoof. We vanished just in time to miss the monster's gaping wide jaws.

Okay. Now that I think about it, rut might not be a nice word. It's more of a Ghourge.

Why am I in Ghastly Ghorge? Well, that started a couple days ago...when I was harshly reminded of my annual adventure...

==DMLB==

Darcy clapped once the episode ended.

"Great. Another episode where friendship wins, and karma makes you her bitch!" Darcy laughed.

I shook my head. "Darce, is wasn't about those three becoming karma's bitches. Karma is the bitch."

Darcy scoffed, getting up off my bed and walking around my small room. "Whatever." She went up to the closet, pulling out one of her other shirts. "Hey, didn't you have something important coming up?"

Pushing myself off the ground, I walked over towards my desk. It was covered in sticky notes, ranging in one of four colors. Blue was stuff for school, pink was stuff about my life, yellow was traveler related stuff, and purple was anything Darcy-related. With a life as long as mine is, it was easy to forget things.

Many of the notes were crossed out, some were thrown into the trash. I looked around only at the blue and pink ones. They had some random reminder, and then a date.

"Nothing coming up." I shrugged.

"So, we can talk about what the Plan is for this episode?" Darcy asked, giddy.

The episode this week was called _'One Bad Apple'_. The song was catchy (and stuck in my head) with some funny costume changes. The part with Diamond Tiara getting coated in mud drove the two of us into hysterics. What? Just because I'm her part-time teacher doesn't mean that I like her. She's still a bully.

"I have a sick feeling that my life is gonna change at this episode, or at least around it." I commented.

Darcy groaned. "You and your feelings. We're Andersons, cold emotionless robots."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, but you and I know I can't stop my gut instincts."

"You could try." Darcy said. She rifled through the closest. "Hey, do you remember where I put my fake licenses?"

"Check the-"

*creak*

Our eyes widened. We snapped our heads towards the door to my bedroom. I motioned with my head for her to hide inside the closet. Darcy rolled her eyes, but still shut the door to the closet.

*knock* *knock*

"Morgan? Can I come in?" Mom's voice asked.

"Just a second!" I said, going up to the closet. "Get ready. It could be a long one."

"Why do you have so many shoes in here? You only wear that one pair of crappy crocs!"

"You know Mom buys whatever shoes fit me."

Darcy made some gagging noises. I opened the door to my bedroom.

"Yes?" I asked, looking over my mom.

She was dressed, not in her pajamas like I expected. Her favorite pale blue polo shirt, and long white pants. On her feet were black heels. Her blonde hair was fading into a dirt brown, with a gray streak here and there. She was probably going to get them dyed soon, again. Her make-up was on; red lipstick, black eyeliner, and a faint blush on her cheeks. It didn't do much to hide her freckles.

Mom was much shorter than me. She was 5'5, I was 5'9. So I had to look down in order to be looking into her water blue eyes.

Over her shoulder, I saw her large purse. It was pink, with white and silver zebra stripes on the sides.

"I don't really wanna go shopping today, Mom." I told her.

Mom shook her head. "Morgan, do you remember what's happening today?" My mother asked.

"...no." I admitted. _'There wasn't anything on the sticky notes.'_

"We're leaving for your uncles house." My mother explained. "Thanksgiving is in a few days, and we need to get there early so we can spend time with everyone."

I held back a groan. My cousins and I were not on the best speaking terms. They were all five years younger than me, and the only one I could have even a semi-decent conversation with was always with her little sister and our step-cousin. That, and they were everywhere. In the bathroom, then the living room, then the bedroom, then the kitchen, then the dining room, and back to the bathroom. It was impossible to be alone.

My aunts and uncles would always ask me about three topics: jobs, school, and my nonexistent love life. My grandparents on my mother's side were worse, because they weren't subtle about it. They also loved playing cards, and making us children play outside.

There was only one aunt on my mom's side that I actually liked, and she was never at the Thanksgiving reunion every year. I haven't seen her in decades...so maybe three human years? It was after The Fifty Years of Darkness, I know that much.

The last few human Thanksgivings have not been so great. The entire time, I tried Jumping or at least reading about another place to Jump. My cousins always tried including themselves in my privacy, asking me questions about the books I was reading.

Thanksgiving meals were no better. I couldn't escape the table, and was stuck on the child end. No matter how hard I tried, people always ended up sitting near me.

"Pack up what you want to take." My mother said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're leaving in one hour."

Then she left my room. I immediately went to work.

The worst part of these trips? The nine to ten hour drive to Destin, Florida with my family. It's impossible to Jump, there is no quiet, and no space for me to be alone.

Week of Hell, here I come.

"So..."

Shit.

I turned around, seeing Darcy walk out of the closet. She had a confident smile on her face. "You're sure you didn't see anything."

"There wasn't a-" I cut myself off, glaring at Darcy. "You took the sticky note!"

My twin pulled out a small sheet of blue paper, waving about. "Oh. Yes. Be mad. Your anger gives me power." She joked, laughing.

"Those things are sacred!" I growled. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Darcy shook one of her fingers. She picked one of my shirts out from the closet. "Or, you could get my help in packing?"

"You'll take out my bras, underwear, and bathing suit. You'll replace it with two pieces of cloth and a string." I snapped, pulling my suitcase out from the closet.

"It's called a bikini, old lady." Darcy chuckled. "Why don't you wear something like that? Show a little skin? Live dangerously."

I rolled my eyes, pulling out five shirts from my dresser. They were thrown into the suitcase, becoming crumpled. "Have you ever considered the possibility that maybe I like two-pieces?"

"And you call me killjoy." Darcy commented.

"Cause it's your name, Killjoy." I droned, packing up my bag for the car ride.

"Can't you just cut loose?" Darcy groaned.

"You're looking a girl who didn't wear a bra when she was a bridesmaid." I reminded, shoving a pair of sneakers into my suitcase.

"Because the dress makers made it too tight!" Darcy countered.

"No underwear in a school." I said, throwing in some shorts.

"Prank from the bitch in _Carrie._ "

"Ah well." I shrugged. "Guess I'm just vanilla. Can you toss me a couple hair ties?"

Darcy groaned loudly. She did as I asked, pulling some hair ties from their holding place. She threw five at me. "Can't you be something cooler? Like...Superman ice cream!"

"French vanilla." I sang.

"One of these days, Morgue, your gonna wish you were a little more like me." Darcy pointed out.

"Sure. Yeah. Can you give me my purple lollipop necklace? I hung it on the dresser."

"You don't wear it at all times?"

"You're telling me you wore yours in Ponyland?" I countered, taking a brief stop from packing to look in her eyes.

Darcy shrugged. "Good point." She picked the necklace, tossing it over towards me.

I caught it, quickly putting it on.

"So...what will I do while you struggle?"

"Stay as far away as you can." I ordered. "Where was that book I took from the library?"

"The one on gemstones and their uses? Brown cover? Yellow pages?" Darcy asked.

I sighed. "Yes."

"Under your suitcase." Darcy said, actually being helpful.

"Oh." I pulled the book out from underneath the suitcase. "Thank you."

"Meh." Darce said. "Didn't feel like messing with you."

I smiled, putting the large book in my travel bag.

I had checked out a book from Twilight's library on gemstones. During some Planning, I wondered if I was using all resources available. So I thought I would look into gem uses to see what I could do with them. Gems have had a lot of uses wherever I went, whether it was for protection charms or power restrainers. I was looking forward to seeing what the jewels could do in Equestria.

Twilight's happened to have a book on this very subject. _Sapphire Quarry's Research on Gemstones_. My homework for the week. I was also bringing along a notebook, some pens, my charged iPhone, headphones, my computer and it's charger, my wallet (with fifty dollars in cash, one fake license, and two debits cards from my two separate accounts), sunglasses, a spare blanket and pillow, and a sleeping eye mask.

"Ready to go." I said, zipping up my bags.

"Uh...you're forgetting two things." Darcy snickered.

"What?" I asked, looking around to see what I forgot. "Oh."

"You're still in pajamas!" Darcy laughed.

"I hate you." I growled, pulling a long sleeved pumpkin orange shirt and long baggy smoky purple pants.

"Would you like a bra?"

"Yes." I snapped, pulling one out from a drawer. Then I remembered the second thing. "Don't even think about following us. We can't take the risk."

"So, you want me to stay here? In Mount Pleasant, until I die of boredom?"

I carefully got myself dressed. "I don't want to come back and find the city is in fear over a serial killer."

"...no dead people?"

I shook my head. "Well, only in cases where the guy is a killer or drug dealer."

"Yay!" She cheered.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled my bags up. "Okay. I'll see you next Saturday. Don't start any fires-"

"Without you, I got it!" Darcy said, opening my bedroom door. "Now get the fuck out of my room."

I glared. "If you mess with any of my stuff-"

"Bye bye!" Darcy sang, slamming the door.

I groaned, raising my hand to knock on the door.

"Morgan! Is everything alright?" Mom shouted from the bottom of the staircase.

Looking down in her direction, I held up my bags. "I'm ready to go."

Mom smiled. "Oh good. Put your stuff in the car. Your father should be home within the hour. Then, the vacation starts."

"Story help me." I muttered under my breath.

==DMLB==

[quote]

For the sake of my character's sanity, she has asked me not to repeat the car ride to you all. Ms. Spencer told me that it was a boring ride. The most she remembers was her youngest brother, the four year old boy, had a tantrum about his iPad dying halfway thru the drive. That, and her father becoming enraged while they tried ordering lunch.

Ms. Spencer wants you all to know that she spent the car ride listening to music, reading a book, and ignoring her family.

For further clarification, I will not write about the car ride. None of you want to know what goes on during an extensive Spencer Road Trip. I'm sure they're just as exciting as your's.

So, I'll just skip to the morning after they arrived.

-Authora97

[/quote]

==DMLB==

It was morning in the Gafford household. My back ached slightly from sleeping on the uncomfortably floor of my cousins' room.

To spare you the thought processing of imagining what their house looked like, let me explain. It was a one story house, three bedrooms, one living room, two bathrooms, one kitchen/dining room, and a sitting room. Nothing too special.

I had a lot of cousins. Isabella (Izzy) and her siblings; Sarah and Scotty Junior (Joey(Jo-Je)) Gafford. Then, there was Jordan and Emily Gafford. I hadn't seen them in years, and didn't expect to. They had some younger siblings, my step-cousin Aurora and the new Gafford baby Selina.

Seven cousins, and that's just on my mom's side.

I have a lot of aunts and uncles. Uncle Scotty and his wife Aunt Myriam. Uncle Frank (Trey) Gafford and his new wife Melanie (I hadn't seen my old aunt in over century, so I can't remember a lot about her). Uncle John (he was adopted from Ukraine), and Aunt Hannah.

Then, we have the grandparents. Grandpa Gafford and Grandma Oakley divorced when my mother was a little girl, and eventually married other people. Grandma Gafford and Grumpy (called so because Mom wanted us to call him something sounding similar to Grampy).

That's everyone on Mom's side of the family that I recall. Her grandfather died years ago, her grandmother when she was around thirteen, a ton of aunts and uncles that can't travel long distance to see us, some cousins that I went to New York with a couple decades ago, and maybe one more that escapes me.

Whoever does come, either stays at Uncle Scotty's house or stay at the hotel he works at. Well, hotel is bad word. It's more of a resort. The Emerald Grande **(AN: it's a real life hotel, I just felt too lazy to come up with a new one)** is the default gathering place.

"Is she awake?" I heard a voice ask.

"Sarah, shh!"

My eyes opened, so I looked over at my two cousins that were watching me sleep.

Izzy was twelve. Her skin was naturally tan, and she was very thin. She was around five feet. She was a gymnast, so I guess being thin was a part of the deal. Her hair was black, going to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, almost concealed by her new glasses. Her eyes were pretty big, even without glasses. Almost cartoonish. Right now, she was dressed in a light purple shirt with purple sparkles. A pair of blue shorts were on her legs, barely going to her mid-thigh. Some colorful sandals were on her feet.

Of all my cousins, I got along with Izzy the most. Yes, I still was occasionally annoyed by her presence, but I was always annoyed by the others. Especially her little sister.

Sarah stood right next to her sister. She was four foot six, a foot shorter than me. She was around ten. Her hair was light brown, like cinnamon. It fell to her shoulders, and was lightly frizzed. Her skin was lightly tanned, showing some of her Latina heritage, but was overall pale and freckly. Her eyes were big (like her sister's) and dark green. She was skinny, almost like her sister. I think she was a ballerina. She was wearing a light green tank top, covered in pastel flowers. There was a purple skirt, about as long as her knees. She wore pink sandals.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family. Who doesn't? But Sarah had been a pain in my behind for one hundred and ninety years. When we were little, I had tried to form a connection with my cousins. To put it simply, they cast me out of their little circle. Sarah at the head of the decision.

How did she put it? Ah yes. _"Morgan, you are the worst and most boring cousin ever. We don't want to play with you ever again!"_

Who am I to turn away from a young child's wish?

I can't remember my last conversation with her. I avoided Sarah at any point. Aurora too, since they were attached at the hip since the met.

The youngest of this Gafford Branch was Joey, his nickname since he was Scott Gafford the Second. He looked just like his daddy did at that age. Brown hair in scraggly, big puppy dog brown eyes, olive skin, and some kind of energy I was 88% percent positive Pinkie Pie gave to him. He wore a blue _LEGO Ninjago_ shirt, and cargo shorts. His sneakers were black, and light-ups.

He was off playing with Nathan, coloring books.

I gave my two eldest cousins a wary look. "Hi girls." I greeted half-heartedly.

"Hey Morgan!" Izzy greeted, enthusiastically.

"Hey Morgan." Sarah said, with less enthusiasm.

Looking back down at my stuff, I tried to find Sapphire Quarry's book.

"What do you want to do today?" Izzy asked, trying to strike up some fun.

"Read." I answered, almost robotically.

"Really? We have some cool art stuff. We learned how to decorate stuff with duct tape!" Izzy cheered. "We could fix up your wallet."

"I like my wallet that way." I said, opening to the third chapter of the journal.

The wallet was probably as old as Lilac. It was made with pink leather (peeling in too many places), covered in stickers with my name on them, and some newer ones I got from GetGlue. Yes, it was falling apart. No, I wasn't getting a new one any time soon.

"We have some with animals!" Sarah cheered. "And Aurora's coming soon for lunch so she can help."

As if the mention of lunch was an alarm clock, my stomach rumbled.

"What time is it?" I asked them.

"Almost noon." Izzy sighed.

Nodding my head, I pulled out my notebook and pens. "Cool. I'll get some breakfast, then keep reading."

"But don't you want to play?"

"W _e don't want to play with you ever again!"_

I shook my head to get that thought out of my head. "No thanks. I'll just stick to being boring." My tone was lighthearted, but I still felt a little hurt at that memory from when I was fifty-seven (eleven in Human).

Then, I picked the two books up. Locking them tightly in my grip. I walked over to the kitchen with confident steps. I didn't have time to hang around with my cousins. I was always on the clock. Always working.

Huh. Maybe Darcy is right. Maybe I'm the Killjoy.

==DMLB==

After a quick bowl of cereal, I thought over my plans for the day. Having Aurora come over might cause some problems, but I'm sure I could keep on researching. I should have around an hour.

Sadly, just as I put my dishes in the sink, Aurora came barreling through the door.

Aurora's heritage was a little blurred for me. Her skin was dark, along with her hair. She looked like a Hawaiian. Her eyes were brown and small, almost like a squint. I knew she wasn't Latina, but I could never find the courage to ask Aunt Melanie. Aurora was dressed in a dark blue top, with some jeans. It was weird to see a ten-year-old wearing jeans. On her feet were orange sandals.

"Ayoshi!" Now that nickname, I can't explain.

"Sarah! Izzy!" Aurora cheered, running up to our cousins. She hugged them tightly.

"Melanie!" I heard my mom cheer coming from the door.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out my headphones. I couldn't concentrate while my family was reuniting after a year apart. Can't they understand I needed silence?

I turned on the music, and kept on taking notices.

According to Sapphire, some gemstones are supposed to hold onto an images of ponies. Maybe there was a way I could expand on that? Record a kind of message on a gemstone?

The stones were called 'Mirror Reflectors'. From the drawing, they looked like a cross between a diamond and a quartz. They grew in some corner of what was now the Everfree Forest. I made sure to make a note in my notepad of that.

Looking over some more of the mythology of the Mirror Reflection stone was interesting. It could be any color, according to the color spectrum. Purple gems meant they could hold a pony's image, as a sort of visual message. Could these be what Chrysalis used when she trapped Twilight in the caverns below Canterlot? Making a note of that.

Blue ones could record a voice, for many days and almost years. It was like a pony version of an answering machine. Green ones looked more my speed, since they could supposedly keep a projection of a pony. From the drawing, I saw this was like Princess Leia's message in Star Wars. Yellow ones couldn't really hold much, just really a glorified mirror. Orange could hold even less, and were just holding a single image for seconds at best. Red ones were practically worthless. I should be looking for green ones when I check the Everfree.

Sapphire reported on finding some more green and blue stones hidden inside G-

"MORGAN!"

"GAH!" I shouted, snapped out from my thoughts. The chair I was in shock, nearly making me fall off.

I rolled out my headphones, taking notice that everyone was looking at me. Mom looked especially mad.

"Yes, mom?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

Mom gave me a glare, and I realized what she had been trying to do. With a quick breath, I turned towards my step-cousin.

"Hey Aurora. I haven't seen you in forever." I got up from my seat and gave the little girl a hug.

"It's nice to see you Morgan." Aurora said, with about as much enthusiasm as I felt.

Letting her go, I looked over to see my aunt and uncle and last cousin.

Uncle Trey had a pointed jaw, covered by a brown beard. His hair was long, reaching his shoulders. It was really curly. His eyes were dark blue. Aunt Melanie was...hooker-esque. Her makeup was gaudy, and overdone. Her lips looked sticky with lipstick, and her eyes looked like a raccoon's. Her golden hair was greasy, and looked like she brushed on the way here.

Little Selina was way different. Her hair was pale blonde, falling straight to her shoulders. Her eyes were big and blue. Her skin was pale like snow. She was wearing a frilly baby pink shirt and sparkly hot pink skirt. On her feet were blue sandals.

I tried to give a quick hug to Uncle Trey, but he held me tightly.

"What's up Morgan?"

"Nothing." I mumbled into his shoulder. He was a few inches taller than me, but only just. Aunt Melanie was my height, so I was face to face with her when I gave her a hug.

"You're gettin' so big! Gosh it seems like just yesterday when Ah was taller than ya!" Did I neglect to mention my step aunt's southern accent?

"Yep." I said in a clipped tone. "Can't help growing."

Aunt Melanie laughed. It was weird laugh, the kind you hear from snooty people. She turned to my mother. "Sara, ya better be careful. Yer kids are growin' like weeds!"

My mom laughed. "I've been trying to get them to stop."

I shut my eyes, rolling them so Mom wouldn't see.

"I need to get back to reading." I mumbled, walking back over towards their kitchen table.

"Actually, Morgan, why don't you play with your cousins?" Mom ordered.

My face tightened. As much as my teenage side wanted, I couldn't lash out at her. Mom just wanted me to be friendly, like her. My mature side wanted to politely decline, but my pride couldn't let me.

"Mom, I don't think they want to play with a boring teenager like me." I explained gently. "I'm no fun, so they should go and play like they want to."

"Morgan, spend time with your cousins! They haven't seen you in months."

' _Years.'_ I almost corrected. "I'll slow them down."

Mom glared at me. Her blue eyes pushing into my amber. Mom and I were complete opposites. She was blonde, I was black haired. She was small, and athletic. I was tall, and in this form I couldn't do much running. Mom was a girl who could get scholarships in any college she wanted, I would need to be the dean's kid to get into a college. Not that I wasn't smart, I had just gone to high school sixteen times and it was boring after the third time.

Mom was extraverted, and wouldn't hurt a fly. I'm introverted and have killed more people than I want to count.

The one thing we had in common? We're both too damn stubborn.

"What's wrong with just hanging out with your cousins?" Mom asked. Before I could give an argument, Mom gave me a look that told me I was going to lose this argument.

Izzy grabbed my arm, dragging me towards her and Sarah's room. "Come on, we can show you how to make a duct tape bracelet!"

I sighed. _'Great. I get to spend more time with people that hate me. How much longer is this vacation?'_

==DMLB==

 _Two Days Later: Tuesday_

Tuesday. Most people hate Tuesdays. They think they're boring. Tuesdays are in the worst part of the week; just after Monday and long before the weekend. I love Tuesdays. They're usually when shit hits the fan. Tuesday is a day when I can get some real peace and quiet.

Today, my family moved into our hotel room at the Emerald Grande. Two big bedrooms, one smaller bedroom, three bathrooms, one kitchen, one living/dining room, and three balconies facing the sunset. We were on the ninth floor, so the balconies were always cold and usually left alone. It also had a bunch of TV's with great channels. My cousins just had cable.

I was given the smaller bedroom for tonight. My brother Damian would get it tomorrow, while I slept on the couch bed. The bedroom was great. One closet, a door leading into a hallway bathroom, a TV, two nightstands, and a bed nearly as big as the room. It had a ton of plugs so I could work on some Planning now that I have some information on these gems.

I was perfectly alone...until my cousins came back from the hotel's heated outdoor pool.

"Look, Izzy, I love you, but I'm trying to read." I said gently, trying really hard not to snap at this preteen.

The latina sighed. "But _Morgan_! All you do is read!" She stomped her feet.

"Because it's fun." I said, trying to keep reading.

"Come on! You've been here almost three days and we haven't done anything together!" Izzy complained.

' _Because you were with Sarah and Aurora all of those three days.'_ I thought.

"Your mom told me that I had to get you out of your book." Izzy said.

I groaned, loudly. "Fine. What are you and those other two doing?" I sighed.

"Sarah wants to have a dance party, but Aurora wants to color." Izzy explained, dragging me out of the room.

I escaped the small girl's grasp, placing my book on the nightstand before being grabbed again. Twilight would kill me if I got that book damaged.

"What exactly does Aurora want to color?" I asked, not entirely excited.

"A _'My Little Pony'_ coloring book." Izzy said with an eye roll. "Sarah wants to dance to the radio, but Dad says that we can't because it would be too loud."

' _Because you all set it to the highest setting.'_ I thought. "Why can't you just play with your polly pocket dolls?"

"We got rid of those." Izzy said, the two of us finally arriving in the living room.

My two other cousins were arguing. Sarah was stomping her foot, a very heavy frown on her face. It looked like she would start crying soon. Aurora was waving her hands around, her black hair flailing all over the place. I couldn't see her face, but I had a feeling she was scowling. They were still damp from swimming in the pool.

I spoke up. "What's going on in here?"

Sarah turned towards me, and she was indeed scowling. "Aurora just wants to color! That's no fun!"

"We went swimming for an hour! I'm tired! Can't we just color?" Aurora whined.

"Not in those! I don't want to color in ponies!"

"Hey, ponies are cool." I argued. They ignored me.

"Ayoshi, coloring is boring! We color all the time!" Sarah argued.

"Well, I can't dance like you guys can!"

"Can't you guys just do your own things?" I suggested.

"I won't do anything without Aurora!"

"And I won't color without Sarah!"

I almost groaned. It was easier to argue with the Crusaders. "Sometimes your friends don't want to do what you do, so you have to do it on your own."

"That's stupid!" Sarah whined, stomping her foot.

"Come on, guys. Can't you just do what you want without your cousin?" I suggested.

"Because!" Aurora yelled. "It's boring to color alone!"

"Well, then I have to make the decision." My part time teacher voiced came out. "Sarah, you're gonna dance to music so long as you don't make it too loud. Aurora, you're going to color on the dining room table."

"But-" Aurora and Sarah began.

"No." My voice was fierce. "Go. I don't want to hear another word."

"But-"

"Not. Another. Word."

The two girls shrunk down, going off in opposite directions to do their separate tasks.

==DMLB==

Aunt Myriam and I were making dinner. She for my cousins, I for myself.

I was wearing a raspberry pink sweater from my school, as well as some jeans. Underneath was a hot pink athletic bra. No shoes on my feet, since I planned on eating on the balcony where Sapphire's book waited.

Aunt Myriam was definitely Latina. Izzy looked a lot like her, but Aunt Myriam was a few inches taller. She was wearing a water blue long sleeved shirt, and brown pants. Some black heels were on her feet, adding an inch to her height.

She was making oven baked pizzas. My meal was just a simple bag of popcorn.

"So, how are you doing Morgan?" Aunt Myriam said, with a Spanish accent.

"Good."

"Oh good! And how is school going?"

"Slowly." I admitted.

Aunt Myriam laughed. "Oh. I know, but it goes so fast. What year are you in?"

"Sophomore." I shrugged, waiting for the microwave to finish.

"What classes are you taking?"

"English, Chemistry, Geometry, and Spanish Level One." I explained.

"Oh? _Cómo se llega a lo largo?_ "

I blinked. " _Bien_? I'm only on level one." _But, I can do some good Afrikaans and Japanese. It helps when a couple of my backstories involve my being raised in places where those languages are accessible.'_ I know what you're thinking, 'why didn't I just take Japanese or Afrikaans?' because I like the challenge.

" _No es ningún problema._ I'm sure you can do it."

"Dankie." I said. "I mean...thanks."

Aunt Myriam laughed. The microwave beeped, telling me it was done.

I pulled the food out, running out towards the balcony. I needed some quiet to properly study this book.

Sapphire mentions in chapter seven a lot of gems used for other magical reason. Fire Rubies were known to help create fires when smashed, and give off the illusion of fire when a light is shown thru. There was these things called shroud emeralds, which could hide the pony from the eyes of others unless they got covered in dirt. Iron Diamonds could cut through anything. I bet I could use some of those shroud emeralds.

Making a note to send Killjoy to...Mountain Range near Appleloosa. She'll like the excuse to see

"Whatcha reading?"

'Fok, help my Storie.' I swore mentally in Afrikaans.

"A book." I muttered, turning a page.

"Why?"

"For science." I muttered, trying to focus on the book.

"Oh! It's a school thing?"

"No."

"Then...extra credit?"

"No. I'm doing research." I said in a clipped tone towards Aunt Melanie.

My aunt smiled at me, though I could tell it was fake. She rubbed at her arms, shivering as a breeze came by. "Don't ya wanna come inside? It's nice and warm in there." Her words were smothered in so much southern twang even Applejack would hate it.

"Cold doesn't bother me." I shrugged.

Aunt Melanie grimaced. "Well, all yer cousins are havin' dinner inside."

"That's why I'm eating outside." I answered. I turned the page in the book. Now I was in Chapter Eight: Security Crystals.

"...yer eatin' popcorn fer dinner?" Aunt Melanie questioned.

"Yes." I answered, not looking up at her.

Aunt Melanie shivered. "Ah'll go back inside."

'Good riddance.' I sighed. That was when o learned o was reading the same page over and over again.

Just a few more days, and then I can go home. I can go to Equestria.

Now...what are these security crystals?

==DMLB==

 _Two Days Later: Thanksgiving_

The meal was finished. The dishes were put away, the leftovers stored, and the family chatted away.

I was ready to sleep, to be honest. I had a traditional meal, with turkey, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a fuck load of Southern Style Sweet Tea (tea flavored sugar). I had so much to eat, that I was barely aware that I had been driven back to Uncle Scotty and Aunt Myriam's house.

Before I fell asleep on their couch, I tried to get a little more research done. These security crystals were really interesting. They were a source of protection in the Royal Canterlot Dungeons. They were mostly used to keep an eye on prisoners, sending a live magical video of the prison to other security crystals where the Royal Guard would watch. They were the pony version of security cameras.

Like I said, interesting stuff.

So, it came as a surprise when I woke up to find Sapphire's book gone.

"Where's my book?" I asked my aunt, panicking.

Mom and Aunt Myriam looked up at me. "What?"

"My book. The one I've been reading for the past four days?" I asked, looking around the living room.

"Where did you leave it?" Aunt Myriam asked.

"I was sleeping with it." I said, internally panicking. "It's kinda old looking, with a dark brown shoulder? The pages are yellow with age?"

Recognition shined in my aunt's eyes. "I saw Joey with a book like that."

My eyes widened in terror. The six year old had the book?!

I dashed off in the direction of young Joey's room, ignoring the yells from my mother and Aunt Myriam to stop.

When I reached the door, a horrid sound reached my ears.

*rip*

My head snapped towards the girls' room. The tearing had come from inside. I practically broke the door open. Inside of their room, they four of them were all looking over the book.

Or, better yet, what was _left_ of the book.

Each of my young cousins held some part of the book. Izzy held the from cover, Sarah held crumbled up pages, Aurora held the end of the book, and Joey was...holding some torn out pages.

My eyes scanned the floor beneath them.

Multiple crayons were strewn about, as well as markers and glitter glue. Taking another look at the pages in their hands, it was fair to say one of them thought I had a coloring book.

*rip*

"Joey!" Izzy warned her little brother, who was still tearing out pages.

"My book!" He argued, ripping out more pages.

Twilight is going to kill me.

I fainted, my head hitting the floor so hard I probably would be unconscious anyway.

==DMLB==

Blinking, I tried to focus on where I was.

I was lying on the couch in their living room. An old blanket was draped over me. Behind my head was something really cold, and a pillow.

I could hear the voice on my aunt off in the next room, along with the muttering a of my cousins. Reaching back, I grabbed onto the apartment ice bag. Pushing it deeper onto my head, wincing from the irritation it caused a large new bump on my head.

Getting up off the couch, I wobbled over towards the next room.

Then, I remembered why I fainted in the first place.

"...and why did you color over it?"

"I thought it was a colorin' book." Joey muttered, ruffling his hair with his hand.

"And Sarah? Aurora? Izzy? What were you thinking?" Aunt Myriam asked.

The three girls had their heads lowered. "We saw Joey drawing in it." Sarah started. "We thought it was another coloring book."

"Then I remembered I saw Morgan reading it yesterday." Izzy added. "We tried telling Jo-Je to stop, but he wasn't-wouldn't listen."

"And why didn't you come get me or Tia Sara?" Aunt Myriam asked.

It was Aurora who answered. "We didn't wanna get in trouble."

"How bad is it?" I asked.

The five practically jumped. They turned to see me, all looking surprised.

"Morgan!" Aunt Myriam said. "Are you okay? Are you alright?"

I nodded, pushing the ice pack on my head. I had to see how severe my murder by Twilight Sparkle, the Protégé of Princess Celestia, would be.

"How bad is it?" I asked again.

"We're so-" Izzy began.

"How. Bad. Is. It?" I interrupted.

Aunt Myriam sighed, guiding me over towards their dining room table.

Mom sat in one of the chairs, a lost look on her face. In front of her...was the remains of Sapphire Quarry's research journal.

==DMLB==

It is going to be painful.

So very very very very _very_ painful.

I like-actually I _love_ \- to make jokes about murder. Being murdered, murdering, and the like. Usually it was focused at one red pegasus. Until today, I haven't really thought over being horribly mangled by a unicorn who would take down Discord, Chrysalis of the Changelings, an Ursa Minor, taken Cerberus of Tartarus for a walk, faced King Sombra's Fear Door,

(More)

"It was a handwritten novel about the scientific study of minerals, and gemstones within the region, also explaining lore behind each gemstone in existence. Even some of the stones that are just legends. Each chapter was filled with each stone, as well it's material composition and internal structure." I explained, my body feeling numb. "There are probably only a handful in existence. Do you have any idea what the librarian is gonna do to me when she finds out I ruined her book? She already has problems trusting me, and ruining the book isn't going to help!"

There was silence.

I groaned, grabbing remains of the book. I hadn't even finished my research!

"I'm gonna...just...head outside. Clear my head."

I walked out the backdoor, immediately heading for the chair swing.

"I can fix this." I muttered. "I can totally do this. I'm Morgan Spencer. I can fix a silly book." I was getting hysterical, but didn't know how to stop. "I fixed a planet's internal structure while it was about to self-destruct. I fixed Retroville when Jimmy shrunk everyone and we were captured by the Egg Aliens. I can fix a journal written by an earth pony from hundreds of years ago. It'll be a piece of cake."

I gripped my arms tightly, feeling myself start to panic. "There's a spell somewhere that I can use. Maybe I can write one that will turn back time in a sort of way that will fix the book. But, what if time goes forward and it falls apart on its own? Ugh."

My body fell into the chair, making it rock like crazy for a moment.

I was still panicking. "What's Twilight gonna do to me when she sees this? I already have a bad connection with her because of the whole incident with Philomena. Maybe I could ask Luna for a favor? Keep me from being roasted by Twilight's rage? No. No. Not even Spike can do that. Fluttershy?

"No! No! What am I thinking? Twilight wouldn't hurt me. She's too scared of getting banished. I can probably just explain that it wasn't my fault. It was those kids. Those damn kids." My sanity was slipping. "I wouldn't be in this mess if Joey hadn't been messing with my book I wouldn't be in trouble. If Izzy or Sarah or Aurora were watching him then I wouldn't be like this! No...it's my fault. If I were watching it more closely I could've stopped Joey from finding it. If I had finally put that lock on my stuff he couldn't get inside it. I can't fix this. I can't.

"No. Wait. I'm Morgan Spencer. I can fix a book. I can totally fix a book. I can make it work. I can make it work. I will make it work."

"Morgan?"

"Gah!" I yelped fumbling about in the chair swing until I noticed Mom standing behind me. "Mom, don't sneak up on me like that!"

The teacher gave me a cautionary look. "Morgan...I know you don't have the best relationship with your cousins-"

"I'm not angry at them." I groaned, rubbing my forehead where Thomas was. Crap, now Darcy's got me doing it!

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'm not mad at any of them. Joey is just a kid and doesn't know better. Those girls were just trying to help." I sighed. Losing my sanity really did help me think, as crazy as it sounds. "I just need a little time to...find a place to get the book fixed." I lied.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a library book. I know how much you liked that book. I should've been more careful where I put it."

"No, I should've been more-" My eyes widened. "Wait...what did you say?"

Mom gulped. "You were asleep and clutching that book. It didn't look comfortable, so I brought it to the girls' room. I put it with the other coloring books and Joey got confused."

"You..." I muttered. "You're the reason Joey..." I made a choking sound as I remembered the state of the book. "...tore apart the book?"

"Morgan, I am so sorry." Mom apologized. "I should've put it someplace higher where he couldn't reach it."

"Yes. You should've!" I snapped, immediately regretting it. "Why did you take it away? I had slept with a book in my arms before. At school! What made this one so different? It wasn't even the largest book I slept holding!"

Mom shrunk away, in guilt.

A horrible thought entered my mind. "No." I tried to reject. "Mom...did you...did you put the book there on _purpose_?"

"Morgan I-"

"Did you put it there just so Joey would rip it apart? Why would you do that?" My eyes widened. I got up from my chair. "Because...because you wanted me to play with my cousins?"

Mom hesitantly nodded. "I didn't know he was going to use it. I thought one of your cousins would and accidently drawn in it and try to cut out the pictures. It had some black and white drawings inside, so I thought it would make sense. You were just so lonely, I didn't want you to spend Thanksgiving without spending time with your cousins! Your family!"

My jaw dropped. My mom had done a lot of things to try and get me to socialize; dropping my off at sleepovers, putting me in classes where I would have to work with others, put my desk around the friendliest people in school, sending me to parties I didn't like. This felt like she betrayed every branch of trust I had with her.

The worst part? Now my peaceful spot was tainted.

"I'm gonna sleep at the hotel tonight." I decided, trying to walk inside.

"Morgan, I'm sorry-"

"Mom." I cut her off. "I need a little time to process this."

I walked inside, going for my iPhone. I needed to call someone to come pick me up.

" _Yes, Morgan?"_ Grandma Oakley said once she answered.

"Grandma...can I sleep at the hotel tonight?"

" _Oh of course honey! I'll be there in thirty minutes to pick you up!"_

==DMLB==

It was morning...and I was still wide awake. I couldn't sleep last night, I was too busy trying to fix the Remains of Sapphire Quarry's journal. I had tried some reversal spells, but they were duds. I tried erasing spells, but they just got rid of the crayon markings.

My body begged for sleep, practicing spells without my actual magic connection made it difficult. It was a kind of lesson: Never Use Unicorn Magic Without My Horn. I might have to go to Equestria to fully get the book fixed.

' _The problem could be that I don't have enough magic. It could be watered down by this world's lack of magic.'_

My stomach rumbled. _'Or I'm too weak from the near concussion of last night, the betrayal from Mom and cousins, and no sleep for almost fourteen hours.'_

I stepped out of the small bedroom, seeing the concerned face of my Grandma as she sat at the dining room table.

Grandma looked up at me. "Good morning, Morgan. How did you sleep?"

"I didn't." I said, in a monotone voice. My legs carried me to the kitchen, and I made myself a bowl of oatmeal.

"That's not healthy." Grandma commented.

'Well, Mom completely rebooting this form's trust issues isn't healthy either.' I thought. "I do it all the time."

"That's really not healthy." Grumpy said from the living room, where a football game was playing.

I sighed, waiting for the pot kettle to tell me the water was running.

It was awkwardly silent for a minute. "Hey, so, your cousins are going to see that new movie, _Wreck-it Ralph_ later this afternoon. Do you wanna see that movie?"

"I'll pass." I said. drumming my fingers on the countertop.

"Morgan Spencer turning down movie theatre popcorn?" Grumpy chuckled. "What's wrong with you today?

"Mom crushed my trust." Was all I said.

A pause. "How did she do that?" I was silent. "Do you maybe, just want to go to the shopping center? I heard they have this great new store for teenagers."

The kettle whistled. I finished making my breakfast and sat down at the table.

I was able to eat in total silence, minus Grumpy's football game. Or maybe he was watching the morning news? Didn't matter, because for one minute, I was peaceful.

For a minute, I didn't think about my mom betraying me. For a minute, I didn't think about how Twilight was gonna murder me. For a minute, it was just me and my breakfast.

Then, my phone rang.

 _So what we get drunk, so what we smoke weed. We're just havin' fun, we don't care who sees._

"Eep!" I picked up my phone, running off towards the balcony. Didn't I turn the ringer off and change the ringtone?! What the fucking fuck? "How did you change the ringtone back?"

" _Hey...remember that thing you said not to do while you were gone? Or, at least, not to do it without you?"_ Darcy asked.

Whelp, there goes my calm. "Yes."

In the distance, I could hear fire truck sirens. _"I may have started a fire."_

Laughing, I shook my head. "You just can't let me have peace of mind, can you?"

" _Hahaha! Peace of mind is for suckers. I prefer the Anderson lifestyle!"_

There was a sound of a crash.

"Are you still inside the building?!"

" _...maybe."_

I laughed, shaking my head. "Darcy Elizabeth Anderson, you are going to get yourself killed leading that lifestyle."

*crash*

" _Good point. I'll call you when I get out."_ Darcy said. _"Stay pure."_

"I can't. I've been around you." I joked

While my human life might not be that great, I can always count on Darcy to liven things up.


	19. How I Got My Cutiemark, Pony Version

"Raspberry, how did you get you get your cutiemark?"

Lifting my head up from the book I was reading, I turned to see the Crusaders. Scootaloo was pulling them all in her red cart. They were all wearing helmets, thankfully. Apple Bloom was giving me a hopeful look, same with Sweetie Belle and Lilac. Scootaloo reminded me of Rainbow Dash, looking like at any second she was gonna fly off.

Yes. The book. The one I had just barely managed to fix. One that my mother broke because she didn't like because I was such a loner. It took three tries with the spell to get the book fixed, and I'm not even completely sure it is. That's why I'm reading it, to make sure it's 300% repaired.

Why did Mom do that? I can understand wanting to make your daughter socialize, but that was an extreme. What does she plan to do next? Take away my door? My computer? My second computer?

I hadn't spoken to my mother in a long time, not since that day. Darcy noticed I was in a funk, and I was scared to admit that it was effecting my dreams. You know it's bad when your dreams tell you.

I turned to Sweetie Belle, the one who asked the question. "My cutiemark story?"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom said. "How did ya get it?"

"Why do you four want to know?" I asked.

"We were thinking of ways to get cutiemarks." Sweetie Belle began.

"We're gonna ask Rainbow, but we can't find her!" Scootaloo said. Her raspy voice getting excited. "So they started asking everypony!"

"We just asked mah big sister, Fluttershy, an' Rarity." Apple Bloom deadpanned.

"And Fluttershy's had Rainbow Dash in it!" Lilac pointed out.

"But it had a frilly song!" Scootaloo argued.

I held back a snicker. "Have you tried getting a cutiemark in debating?"

"What?" Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Lilac asked.

"Arguing." Sweetie Belle groaned. "What would that cutiemark even look like?"

"Two gavels crossing over each other, probably with an weird explosion behind it." I answered. "Or, maybe just one gavel?"

"We're getting off track!" Scootaloo groaned.

"Sorry." I apologized. "Going tangent is a thing with me. Cutiemark story anypony?"

The fillies leaned in close, except Scootaloo. Scootaloo leaned onto her scooter with a bored expression.

"The story is...there isn't one."

"Wait...what?" Scootaloo asked, looking confused.

"I was born with this puppy." I said lightly tapping the book on my flank. "It's been there my whole life." _'Apparently.'_

"Oh just great!" Scootaloo groaned.

"How were you born with it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"If you can answer that, Sweetie Belle, you will be my hero." I sighed. "Lots of ponies have asked, but none have given me a good answer."

Lilac tilted her head. "Did you ask everypony?"

"Everypony that listened." _'So, basically Killjoy.'_

The fillies had downtrodden expressions.

"But..." I said, hoping to get their spirits up. "I can tell you what I know it means."

Apple Bloom lifted her head. "But...Ah thought gettin' yer cutie mark meant ya knew what yer special talent was."

"It is." I said, getting into my teacher voice. "But just because you know your talent, doesn't mean you know what it means to have it."

"What? Now you aren't making any sense!" Scootaloo groaned.

"Occupational hazard." I shrugged. "I figured this thing out when I was eleven years old. I had finally started looking into this thing a year before, and hadn't gotten anywhere. Then, I was...hanging around...some of my oldest coworkers..."

==DMLB==

 _A young Morgan Spencer was lying in her bed, watching the TV with rapt attention. Once she learned how real her Gift actually was, she wanted to make sure she was doing it right. That meant combing through every detail, every theory, and every character to make sure she didn't embarrass herself or get herself in trouble._

 _She was watching_ 'Criminal Minds'. _It was really late, hours past her bedtime. She was watching the episode_ 'No Way Out, Part II: The Evilution of Frank. _Morgan didn't know why, but she knew this episode was important. Both to her, and to...she hadn't figured out that part yet. So she watched, absorbing every word like religious scripture._

"My team, let me tell you about my team." _Aaron Hotchner spoke in his firm tone. One Morgan had heard many times from her own father._ "Agent Morgan fought to protect his identity from the very people who could save him. Why, because trust has to be earned, and there are very few people he truly trusts. Reid's intellect is a shield which protects him from his emotions, and at the moment his shield is under repair. Prentiss overcompensates because she doesn't yet feel she's part of the team, she needn't worry. Everyday Agent Jareau fields dozens of requests for our team, and every night she goes home hoping she made the right choices. Garcia fills her office with figurines and color, to remind herself to smile as the horror fills her screens."

 _Morgan smiled. She had been alive for...maybe fifteen years now? She had seen a lot of horror movies (her parent's didn't know, so don't tell!) along with detective shows. Ever since she was eight, she had been watching these shows. She had wondered why she could go into those shows, or movies. Was it a gift from God, like her father was always talking about? Was it a curse from the Devil, for liking this shows in the first place and disobeying her parents?_

 _Now she knew. It was her own special kind of optimism. Her own figurines and bright color. She may not be able to get friends in school, or get the best grades, or get along with anyone in her family, but she could make others happy. She could make them smile. She could make their lives better, even at the expense of her own._

 _What she didn't know, was there was a bright flash coming her eyes when she thought. said this. The same flash that happens when a pony gets their cutiemark..._

"And Agent Gideon in many ways is damned by his profound knowledge of others, which is why he shares so little of himself, yet he pours his heart into every case we handle."

 _Then, Morgan had a dark thought. Would her information of their futures be the cause of her greatest achievement, or her damnation?_

==DMLB==

Scootaloo tilted her head. "So...your cutiemark is making ponies happy?"

"Yes." I nodded. "Using my smarts to make others happy."

"Like Pinkie Pie!" Lilac cheered.

I laughed. "While Pinkie and I like making others happy, that doesn't mean we have the same cutiemark. She throws parties to make ponies smile. I like to be more... behind-the-scenes."

"What does that mean?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It means, that while Pinkie gets all up in your face and drags you to a party, I like to little hints at making ponies happy. Sending a gift on a birthday, giving them a cup of sugar when they ask, saving them from a burning building. You know, behind-the-scenes stuff."

"And Aunt Killjoy?" Lilac asked. "What does she do to make people happy?"

"I wouldn't ask her that question." I said quickly, filled with terror at the thought of Killjoy explaining the birds and the bees to Lilac. Standing up off the ground, I shook my head to get rid of the Killjoy-sex-talk thought. "If you want to find Rainbow Dash, I think she might be on her way to Sugarcube Corner."

Scootaloo's face brightened. "Finally! Some action! Come on!"

The orange pegasus' wings began to buzz, and Lilac gave me an almost frightened look. "Bye Mommy!"

"Stay alive!" I waved, watching the fillies and dragonette ride off.

==DMLB==

The walk to the bistro was much shorter than I imagined. I found the Crusaders and Twilight quickly, since they were sitting at Twilight's usual table.

The unicorn noticed me instantly. "Hello Raspberry."

"Hello Sparkle of Twilight." I greeted, walking up beside the Crusaders.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I figured since these were asking about cutiemarks, I would go around and listen with them. To be honest, I'm looking forward to hearing yours." I smiled.

Twilight gave me a wary glance, and then continued. "As a young filly in Canterlot, I always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration, where Princess Celestia raises the sun." Twilight now had a far off look in her eye, a remembering smile on her muzzle. "And I saw the most amazing, most wonderful thing I've ever seen."

"What did you see?" I asked.

"Celestia raising the sun." Twilight answered, a delighted smile on her face. "I poured myself into learning everything I could about magic. My parents decided to enroll me in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It was a dream come true! Except for one thing... I had to pass an entrance exam!"

The Crusaders gasped.

Twilight went on. "I knew it was the most important day of my life, that my entire future would be affected by the outcome of this day and I was about to blow it! But, then my magic surged! It went crazy, blasting spells left and right. My parents and examiners were turned into plants!"

"Was one a cactus?" I asked.

"Yes." Twilight said, giving me a brief glare. "And it made Spike's egg hatch, and made him grow to an enormous size that broke the roof!"

The five of us giggled. It was a funny image, seeing Spike the size of a building.

"The next thing I knew, Princess Celestia was there! She was telling me that she wanted me as her protege, to help hone my studies. Then, she pointed out to me that I had my cutiemark! At that point, I was ecstatic!" She squealed. "I started bouncing around..."

She leapt around the table, muttering 'yesyesyesyes'.

"Okay. Okay." Apple Bloom nervously said.

"We're happy for you, Twilight." Sweetie Belle grinned.

I brought out my camera. *click*

"What was that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Probably just a bug." I shrugged.

Lilac smiled widely. "That was a great story, Miss Twilight! Did you like Scootaloo? It had a huge dragon in it!"

The orange and magenta pegasus groaned. "Yeah, thrilled. Let's get out of here while we still can."

As the four escaped, I sat happily as Twilight continued to bounce around the table.

"Miss, are you alright?" The waiter asked Twilight, who finally stopped bouncing.

The mare blushed. "Yes."

She sat back in her chair, and I sat in the one across.

"Please, take a seat Raspberry." Twilight deadpanned.

"I already sat down, but thank you." I grinned happily. "So...how has your life been? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." _'Which I blame on the Thanksgiving vacation.'_

"You saw me last week." Twilight said, in that same tone.

"True, but it was a very long week." I commented. "So, have you talked with Celestia since you saw her last? I sure hope Philomena is doing okay."

" _Princess_ Celestia." Twilight snapped in a low tone. "Has only rewritten us with her well wishes. She says Philomena is in full health, and shall stay so for a long time."

"Phew." I sighed. "I'm glad. Philomena was a really nice bird. One heck of a prankster too. Still can't believe you thought Philomena was gonna die."

There was a pause. "I didn't. Fluttershy did."

I chuckled. "Right, and you thought we would get banished and arrested in the place we were banished to."

Twilight blushed. "It was a perfectly reasonable fear."

I have her a questioning look. "Seriously?"

"It was!"

I laughed. Twilight glared. "And what are you scared of hmm? What's your reasonable fear?"

A shudder went down my spine. "I'm scared of tests."

Twilight blinked. "...tests? And you called mine strange?"

"Hey. I have a perfectly good reason of being afraid." I defended. "I went through testing that traumatized me, most likely for life."

"What was it on?" Twilight Sparkle, novice scientist asked.

I gulped.

==DMLB==

" _Well, we'll need to take blood and hair samples today." Agent Meyers said._

 _I struggled against the restraints. Curse this thirteen year old body. Why couldn't I have a sixteen year old, or maybe a twenty-one year old? At least then I could get drunk._

" _Don't worry. These tests will be very short today." The agent said._

" _You bastard! I hope you burn in hell for fucking eternity!" I screamed at him, just as he pushed a needle into my arm. "AHHH!"_

 _These people had found out what I could do. They knew what I was. They knew I could Jump. They kept running tests on me. This is what I get for trying to help Cassia._

 _I hate tests._

==DMLB==

"Biology." I half-lied.

"A biology test scarred you for life?" Twilight asked, skeptical. "How?"

"How does banishment scare you?" I countered.

"I am forced to leave my family and friends behind." Twilight said.

I paused. "Well, tests just scare me. I've actually gotten better. I used to have panic attacks when somepony even said the word." A dark chuckle came from my throat. "Dang, those were embarrassing. Glad my mom was there, or else I don't know what would happen."

"Yes. Your mother. What was she like?" Twilight asked.

I raised a brow. "That's a _little_ private."

"You heard my cutiemark story, how I got Spike, and became the Princess' student."

A beat. "Good point." I shrugged. "Mom was kinda...your basic school mare. She really liked teaching foals. My dad was the same, except he was more...high school based, he became a math teacher."

"Your parents were teachers?" The unicorn asked, sounding shocked.

"Shocked?"

"Yes." Twilight said.

"It's cool. My brothers were smart too. My brother was twelve, and was in high school math. The other was an inventor." I shrugged. "Basically, everypony in my family was smart."

"...you keep using past tense." Twilight commented.

"Such an astute mare." I congratulated. "I should get going. I have a meeting with my roommate. I need to remind the guidelines for when she takes Lilac camping this weekend."

Getting up from the seat, I gave Twilight a smile. "Have a nice day Sparkle of Twilight. You might wanna hurry, Rainbow is going to explain her story at Sugarcube. It'll be worth wild."

With that, I walked away. I had to talk with my sister.

==DMLB==

Dear Celestia,

It's me. Raspberry Stardust. Just thought I would say _'hey'_. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion you're looking into my past. _(No, Sparkle of Twilight didn't tell me you were looking.)_ Please don't. It's not a pretty thing. I looked back at it all myself, and I wish I didn't. Just please let it stay in the past where it belongs.

On an unrelated note, Killjoy says hi! She says Luna is showing favoritism by only to my dreams. I kinda used magic to block Killjoy's dreams from anypony except me. So, if Luna goes to check and gets kicked out, tell her not to panic. I've seen my sister's dreams and they were...less than pleasant.

Your New Pen pal,

Raspberry 'Razz' Stardust

==DMLB==

 _Darcy/Killjoy_

"And..."

"And" I droned. "I won't explain how sex works."

Raspberry nodded. "Good. You learn things."

"You taught me everything I know." I remarked.

"Gold star." Raspberry said, patting on my head. "It was a good day. I got pictures of Twilight jumping around."

I chuckled. "That is funny."

My sister walked over to my desk, making careful notice of my blood jars. Two of which had blood inside. "Some animals didn't like me."

"Harming animals is a sign of serial killers." Raspberry droned.

"I was one. Don't you remember that case in _Criminal Minds_?" I asked, starting to laugh.

"The one where I accidentally profiled my little sister, and correctly at that?" Morgue smirked.

"The very same."

"The one where you killed people Dexter style?"

"Oh yeah. That was fun."

"It's kinda sad. I profiled you before I actually knew you."

"Did it make any easier to grow up with me?" I asked.

Morgue chuckled. "No."

==DMLB==

The sun had set, and Lilac and I were setting up the fire. It was really easy with a dragon around, much easier than those stupid lighters.

The two of us were roasting marshmallows, enjoying the quiet. Well, Lilac might've been. I personally liked seeing the marshmallows burn.

"So, kid, how's life?" I asked, staring at the marshmallow as it burned.

The kid giggled. "It's really, really good! I have nice friends, and today we went all over town trying to get cutiemarks!"

I lifted the marshmallow out of the fire, gently putting out the flame on it. "You know you can't get a cutiemark, right?"

"I know that, but that don't mean I can't find a special talent."

' _And I thought I had bad speaking.'_ I thought.

"Any leads?"

"Any what?" Lilac asked.

I rolled my purple eyes. "Any ideas of what that talent is?"

"No...but...Sweetie Belle is really good at singing. Kinda like Mommy is. Apple Bloom is good at making stuff, and Scootaloo is really, really good at skateboardin'." Lilac said, pulling off her marshmallow. "I don't know what I'm good at."

"You're smart." I shrugged. "Smarter than I was at that age."

Lilac giggled. "You're smart too, Auntie Killjoy."

"Ha! Tell your mom that." I laughed. "How was-"

"How did you get your cutiemark?"

My head snapped to Lilac. My silver hair falling over my face. "What?"

"Mommy told us her cutiemark story." Lilac explained. "She told us it was making ponies happy. I asked her what you do, and she wouldn't say. So, how did you get your cutiemark?"

"Why do you wanna know? And why should I tell you?"

The purple dragon smiled innocently. "Because tomorrow is my birthday. The big Number Five!"

' _Shit_.' My mind immediately thought.

"Well..." I didn't have a present, so this would do. "If I tell you, then you can't expect me to get you something tomorrow."

Lilac giggled. "Tell the story! Tell the story!"

"I won't tell it as good as Razz, but alright..."


	20. Killjoy's Cutiemark Story

**This takes place in the film _Child's_** ** _Play_.**

 **==DMLB==**

" _It was some time ago, back when I was your age Lilac. Raspberry and myself were living with our parents in a small apartment, nothing too special was happening. Until our neighbor's sixth birthday came around, and he got a present that changed our lives..._

" _Forever..._

==DMLB==

==DMLB==

Sitting in a small living room playing with various toys, were three kids. It was a slightly old apartment building they were in, with pale yellow wallpaper, a box TV, small fireplace behind it and three small couches with one being able to seat one person, the one across from it two and the one facing the TV three.

In the kitchen, was their babysitter. She was a little short, with a brown perm, dark brown eyes, a slightly tan complexion with small freckles to decorate her cheeks. Wearing a forest green sweater, a black skirt and tights, and black heels. She was sneaking a few bits of the chocolate birthday cake, almost unaware of the children's actions in the living room.

A small boy with a bowl haircut, wearing a blue shirt and matching pajama pants was playing with construction tools and a large doll wearing similar clothes. Next to him was a small girl with slightly pale skin playing with a smaller doll, she was wearing a purple nightdress with little white frills on the cuffs of her wrists, collar and bottom end. Her hair was long and black, going far past her shoulders. Her eyes were a lovely color, the same shade of blue as an ocean-

" _Wait, Aunt Killjoy. You're eyes are purple."_

" _Yes, I'm getting to that Lilac. Now shut up."_

-that brightened whenever she smiled. She was excited to be invited to this small slumber party, with only her older sister and their mutual friend as the parties attendees.

Sitting on the three person couch simply watching the TV, was the third child. She was the eldest of all of them and it clearly showed. The six-year-old would hold herself quite unlike her two companions playing on the floor, her gaze would linger on her sister before turning back to the TV. Her nightgown was light pink, having similar frills like on her sister's dress. Her hair was black, but was beautifully curled to almost the highest level of cuteness. Her amber eyes kept looking at the small red haired doll with almost fear, as though she knew something no one else did.

"See, that's how you build things." The young boy, Andy, told the doll wearing a blue helmet reading _Good Guy_.

The girl on the couch stiffened when the doll's head moved towards the TV when the anchorman brought up the killer Charles Lee Ray. He went on to explain how a man called Eddie Caputo had escaped from the precinct.

"Hey Chucky, you're not watching me." Andy commented. This caused the doll's blue eyes to widen look back at the small truck made of wood, half completed.

"Hey, wanna play?" The doll said in it's almost child-like voice, unknowingly giving the curly haired girl chills. It reminded her of another doll asking to play a game, staring at people with it's red eyes and white face all creepily.

"Morgan, why don't you come and play with us?" The girl playing with the smaller doll asked her sister.

"Because Darcy, I'm too mentally mature to deal with your childish antics." The curly haired girl explained, still looking at the TV.

"You talk funny." Darcy laughed, continuing to play with her doll.

The babysitter, Maggie Peterson, suddenly stopped her kitchen activities.

"Hey time for bed kids." She said, fixing her sweater and licking the remains of cake of her fingers.

The two children on the floor stood up, the boy looking at the doll expectantly.

"Come on Chucky, we have to get ready for bed." Andy explained.

Darcy and Morgan slowly began walking away from the living room, one eager to sleep the night away while her younger sister wanted to play some more.

Andy didn't join them, he leaned his ear down towards the doll as if it was talking.

"Aunt Maggie, Chucky wants to watch the 9 o'clock News." Andy explained to the woman.

She proceeded to lift the child up, going over to turn off the TV then take the child to bed.

"Chucky!" Andy pointed out, causing the woman to stop and look at the doll.

"Oh yeah, Chucky." Maggie said, going over to pick up the doll. It's hat falling off and hitting his head on a wall.

The eldest girl rolled her eyes, why didn't Maggie at least _try_ and show emotion for the doll. That's what any good babysitter would do, play along with the child's wants til it reached a critical point. Crossing her small arms over her chest, Morgan went over to the restroom to brush her teeth as instructed.

When Maggie yelled asking about brushing their teeth Darcy was the only one not to respond as she was waiting patiently for her elder sister and friend, also noticing a certain movement.

The woman was startled by a loud noise coming from the living room, the TV had turned on. Walking over to the living room, Maggie found Chucky sitting on the two person couch watching the news.

Darcy watched as Maggie dragged the doll towards the bathroom, making her squirm uncomfortably in her chair. Her sister inside merely watched Maggie yell at Andy for actions both twins knew the doll committed, though both by different means.

The twins walked over to the small mat made up of blankets made for them. They were staying the night while their parents were on a business trip, returning in the morning in time to pick them up and take them to daycare.

None of the children knew how far away that meeting would seem.

==DMLB==

Darcy was rudely awakened by her sister shaking her. She could barely hear what Morgan was mumbling, something about Darcy sleeping thru volcano day? The six-year-old slowly came out of her stupor, wondering what happened.

"Morgue, why are you waking me up?" Darcy asked.

"Ugh, because Detective Mike Norris is here to see us. Geez Darcy, how did you not hear what happened?" Morgan asked, an annoyed look on her face. "I swear you would sleep thru a hurricane."

In Andy's room, Darcy noticed Andy clutching to Chucky closely while a man in a brown suit and a red tie stood in the doorway. He had a kinda long head, with nice black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Darcy asked.

The man nodded.

"Something happened to Miss Peterson." Morgan said, sounding like a parent explaining a relative's death.

The girl was suddenly panicked. Something happened to Miss Peterson?

The man, Detective Norris, took a few steps forward.

"I wanted to ask you kids a few questions, if that's okay."

"It is sir, my sister was asleep during the time, so she'll know next to nothing (which is normal) and Mrs. Barclay should be back soon." Morgan explained, barely sounding affected despite the events.

Darcy watched her sister's calmness, still wondering what happened to Maggie.

Almost ten minutes later, the sounds of Mrs. Barclay frantically calling for Andy came from the halls. When the blonde haired woman came into the room, both Darcy and Andy ran up to her.

"Mommy!" Andy said.

"Mrs. Barclay!" Darcy added.

Mrs. Barclay immediately hugged the two children that ran up to her. Morgan was off to the side, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Are you three alright?" Mrs. Barclay asked the three children, letting them go and looking them in the eyes.

Andy and Darcy nodded.

Mrs. Barclay hugged them again. "Oh I'm so glad," The mother finally noticed the other adult in the room, he was looking down on the trio with sympathy. "What's wrong?" Gently pushing the children back, she tried to get them to look at her. "Where's Maggie?"

"She had an accident." Darcy said.

"Accident? What kind of an accident?" Mrs. Barclay asked, looking up at the detective.

"Mrs. Barclay, I'm Detective Mike Norris, Homicide. Can I talk to you out in the hall?" The man in the brown overcoat asked.

"Why? What's happened to Maggie?" Mrs. Barclay asked in a near whisper.

"Please?" He asked.

The blonde haired woman stared at the man, silently debating whether or not she should go with him. She turned to the two children near her, brushing her son's cheek with her hand.

"I'll be right back." The mother said.

She grabbed her purse and stood herself up, walking out with the detective and leaving the children behind. The adults tried to get out of hearing range for the children, but Andy picked up his Good Guy doll and sat on the chest at the end of his bed.

"What happened to Ms. Peterson?" Darcy asked.

"Someone wanted to see if she could fly. It didn't work." Morgan said in almost annoyance.

"Who was it?" Andy asked.

Morgan glared at him. "What makes you think I know?"

"Well, you did know what happened to her..." Darcy said.

"Trust me, if I did (and I'm not saying I did) then everybody would know it was me. No, whoever did this was way better than me. He has the perfect disguise, but you two aren't in the mood for a Horror Story so I won't tell you."

Darcy crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. Her sister had been like this all day and it was starting to get annoying!

Andy lifted the doll up to his ear suddenly, after a few seconds he moved it back down and ran out the door.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Andy yelled.

Out of concern for her friend, Darcy ran after him.

Out of curiosity and anger of the six-year-olds stupidity, Morgan ran after her.

"This girl is gonna get me killed at this rate." Darcy heard her sister grumble.

When all three reached the kitchen, Andy was talking to his mother.

"Chucky wanted to know what was going on." Andy said.

"I did too." Darcy said.

"I'm just following this one." Morgan groaned, pointing at Darcy.

"Andy, Darcy, Morgan, I want you three to go to bed. The Detective and I are very busy.

"But Mom-"

"Right now, please." Mrs. Barclay pleaded.

The three kids turned back, but the detective stopped them and asked to see Andy's shoes. Mrs. Barclay stopped the detective and ordered the children to go back to Andy's room and go to bed.

Darcy didn't know what happened to Ms. Peterson, but she knew this much as she began going back to bed, she noticed some flour at the bottom of Chucky's shoes. She and Andy both noticed.

"Mrs. Barclay!"

"Mommy!"

The two children ran out, despite Morgan's protests, to share with the detective and Mrs. Barclay their discovery.

They both tried to explain how they figured it out, but Mrs. Barclay requested they go back to bed.

"Who, kids, who?" The detective asked.

"Chucky!" Both kids answered at the same time.

"Andy's doll?" The detective asked skeptically.

Andy and Darcy nodded.

"Andy, Darcy, that's enough stories for tonight." Mrs. Barclay ordered. "Now come on, back to bed. Now I mean it!" She pushed the children towards the bedroom with the fury she could muster.

The kids slumped into the room, carefully getting themselves inside their sleeping areas.

The amber eyed twin gazed at her sister, who was just about to fall asleep, and spoke.

"I don't know how you came here, Darcy, but I sure as hell know how you're gonna leave if you keep this up." Morgan said, adjusting herself as her sister fell asleep. They both were asleep before Mrs. Barclay came back into the room.

==DMLB==

The next day, after the Andersons picked up the twins, Morgan was getting herself ready for school.

Her mother, Emily Anderson, calmly walked into the room and noticed the six-year-old had already dressed herself while her sister patiently waited. She had heard about what happened last night and was concerned for both of her children.

Brushing some of her straight black hair behind her ear, she walked over to Morgan.

"Good morning Morgan."

"Morning." The little girl said, walking around her mother to reach the bathroom.

Emily watched her daughter in shock. She was acting very disrespectful.

"She was like that last night too Mommy." Darcy admitted.

"She was?" Emily asked, her olive green eyes widening.

Darcy nodded. "Mh-hmm. Morgue told me last night when we were playing with Andy that she was _'too mentally mature to deal with my childish antics'_. What does that mean Mommy?" Darcy asked.

The mother, knowing what the words meant, was confused as to how her daughter did. The same daughter who days before asked how they fit the cartoon people inside of the television.

"I'll tell you when you're older, Darce."

"Okay Mommy." Darcy said. "Could you help me get dressed?"

Emily smiled, happy that at least Darcy hadn't changed overnight. "Of course sweetie, now what color would you like today?

Unbeknownst to the two, Morgan stood in front of a mirror and had been listening carefully. She was acting a bit strange, but wouldn't you if you found out you had a twin sister the day before a woman was murdered by a doll?

==DMLB==

" _A doll?" Lilac asked me, looking at me with her big midnight blue eyes._

" _Yep, Chucky. Or as he used to be called, Charles Lee Ray." I explained._

 _Lilac's face scrunched up in concentration. It lit up a moment later. "Wait! Wasn't that the man the newspaper said died? How could he be a doll?" Lilac asked in confusion._

" _Trade secret." I answered with a smirk. "Anyway, after Mom helped me get dressed she took Raspberry and I to school. Once we did, Razz walked right into class but I noticed Chucky and Andy walking away. Out of concern for him, I followed. It took some time but eventually they ended up at an old looking house, well, old isn't the right word, but like a dump._

" _Now, I tried to stay out of sight, but what came next nearly caused me to scream. When Andy put Chucky down and was out of sight, the doll stood up on his own forehooves!"_

 _Lilac gasped._

" _Chucky ran into the house and I followed behind. I watched from a window as he opened a stove and set it up as high as it could go. I saw a stallion walk into the kitchen and before I knew what happened, the house went boom."_

 _The dragon gasped again. "Were you hurt?!"_

" _Nah, just some minor cuts and bruises from the landing. Wish I knew how to fly back then, would've come in handy." Just at the thought, my wings moved on my back. It felt so weird having wings._

" _The next thing happened a while later, Andy and I were taken to a police station. I was checked up by a doctor they had there while Andy was questioned as to what happened. Apparently the house that exploded belonged to an_ Eddie Caputo _, and Chucky did not like him."_

" _These are weird names." Lilac commented._

" _It was a griffon community."_

" _But you said it was Marecago."_

" _Marecago, in a Griffon Community." I lied. "Anyway, the police there were asking me what I saw. I told them I saw Chucky walking all by himself inside the house, open the oven and then run out of the house. They didn't believe me and said I was as crazy as Andy. When my parents and sister arrived, they were all in various stages of fury. They were informed by a psychiatrist (a doctor for the mind) that I should spend a couple days with them because of my insane story about a doll coming to life."_

" _So my parents agreed, Razz looked ready to blow a fuse though. Mom and Dad kept on asking what I was thinking, tell the police that lie and skipping school. I told them I wasn't lying and that I was worried about my friend."_

" _What happened next Aunt Killjoy?" Lilac asked._

" _Chucky went through on his promise."_

" _Promise?"_

" _To kill Andy for telling."_

==DMLB==

Darcy sat in the padded room, trying to think of something to do. She felt like rocking, or maybe banging her head against the side, or maybe bouncing a ball around. Anything to stave off the boredom she felt!

She had staying the night and had never for even the smallest second felt safe.

It was so scary being in that place all alone. It was so dark at night and all she had was a little blanket. How was this supposed to help her feel better? Make her forget about Chucky coming to life? She wished her mother was here, or her sister despite how strange Morgue was acting.

Darcy did realize one thing, sitting there all alone, something was missing from her life. She couldn't figure out what though. It was strange too, when the house blew up, she actually felt nice.

Maybe that's what she was missing. Something that happened in that house made her feel all right inside. Was what it? All she could think of was when Chuck hurt Eddie Caputo by blowing up the house! What kinda person liked that sort of thing? It felt wrong, but oh so right.

What was the word that the detective used at the station? Martyr? No. Mayder? No.

Murder.

Yes. That word, that word seemed nice. Nice and fitting, now if only she could figure out how to use that word for some fun.

"Psst." A voice whispered.

"Huh?" Darcy asked.

"Psst!" The voice said in an angry whisper.

"Is someone there?"

"Darce, you're insane, but not that insane." The voice whispered.

Darcy jumped off the bed and ran to the barred window, looking down and seeing her twin sister wave at her, annoyed.

"Morgan?"

"No, I'm Jiminy Cricket, who else would I be Sherlock?!" Morgan groaned.

"What are you doing here?"

"Doing something I thought wouldn't be doing for at least ten years, breaking you out of the looney bin." Morgan answered, steadily climbing up the wall to reach her sister.

"You can't do that! Do you know how much trouble you could get it!" Darcy warned.

"A lot less than you're already in. Chucky is on his way here, and I'll be...well, I'm not gonna strand you here." Morgan said as she reached her sister's window. "The bars are wide enough for you to climb out. Whoever owns this place needs to work on that."

"Andy stop!" The two sisters heard from the outside.

Morgan grabbed her sister's arm and tried to pull her through the bars. "Come on! We need to get going!"

Darcy, confused, climbed out of the bars and began to slow climb down with her sister.

"Where do we go now?" Darcy asked her sister.

"Home." Morgan said simply.

"How did you get Mommy and Daddy to let you out of the apartment?" Darcy asked, realizing that her parents would keep a very close eye on Morgan since Darcy was locked inside the Asylum.

"I didn't. They should really fix that window in our bedroom, it's very easily opened." Morgan said. "No stop asking questions and run. If we're lucky maybe we can get there before anybody else."

The blue eyed girl nodded, holding tightly onto her sister's hand as they ran back home.

==DMLB==

Morgan opened the door to the Anderson apartment, carefully walking in with her sister. The second she closed the door their parents were on them.

"Morgan!" Their father, George Anderson, ran up to them with Emily right behind him. He had black hair cut very short and ocean blue eyes. "Where have you been?"

"I went to go get Darcy. Yell at her, she was the one who ended up there in the first place." Morgan ordered before walking back out of the apartment.

As though they had to, both parents turned to Darcy and began their separate rants on how careless Darcy had been, following after Andy yesterday.

Darcy only sat in confused shock, why did their parents listen to Morgan? How come she got off scot free?

"You're not being fair!" Darcy yelled.

"Young Lady, that is no way to speak to your parents!" Emily scolded.

"It's true! Morgue helped me escape that weird place and you're not yelling at her!" Darcy argued.

"Your sister isn't the one on trial here, kiddo, you are." George explained.

In a state of childlike rage, Darcy stormed into the kitchen. She felt like there was something she needed from there.

"Don't you dare walk away from us Darcy!" George growled.

"You march right back over here this instant!" Emily yelled.

Darcy huffed, her parents were being so mean! She prepared to yell at them when something got her eye, she turned to it and saw what had to be the most glorious piece of art.

A knife...the biggest one in the kitchen. The way it shined under the kitchen light. It called to the six-year-old like a siren calls to a sailor. She grabbed it with her little hands and carefully hid it behind her back before walking back in sight of her parents.

"Darcy Anderson, explain yourself!" Emily ordered.

The girl ignored her parents and walked into their living room, standing and waited for them to follow.

It didn't take long as the parents stormed over and tried giving their daughter a good talking to.

"Darcy Anderson, we understand that you're in a confused place, but you still need to respect your parents!" George yelled.

"You're right. I need to pay my respects." Darcy said.

"And another- what?" Emily started but stopped when she heard her daughter's sentence. " _Pay your respects_?"

"Yep. You taught me that when a person dies, you need to pay your respects."

"But...we're not dead." George pointed out.

"Yet." Darcy said with a dangerous gleam in her eyes, slowly revealing the knife to her now scared parents. "I think I should fix that...right now."

The two parents slowly noticed, as the child approached, her eyes fading into a rich purple.

==DMLB==

==DMLB==

" _And_ that, _is how I got my cutiemark."_

 _Lilac was staring at me once I finished my story. She looked shocked mostly, why did she sound so shocked? Lilac herself was an Anderson, or was it a Spencer? A Stardust? Damn it, I need to talk with Morgue about this later._

" _Aunt Killjoy?" Lilac started._

" _Yeah squirt?"_

" _Was that story really real?" Lilac asked, still looking at me like I was crazy._

 _I gave a small light hearted chuckle, patting the dragonling on the back. "Ah, you sweet innocent creature. Trust me, you'll soon know it was more real than any other story you have ever heard in your life." I walked away after that, going towards my tent._

 _Remembering what happened when Morgue got home after I killed Mom and Dad._

==DMLB==

Twenty minutes later, Morgan walked into the apartment with a tired look on her face. It took her a moment to realize there was a strange odor in the home she had been living in for the past two days. She looked around and noticed her sister standing with her back towards Morgan.

"Darce," Morgan began, starting to think nicely of her sister. It was the reason she saved her from the Mental Asylum after all. It took the girl being dragged away to make Morgan realize she had a chance at a sister, something she had never been able to get. It only helped that Darcy was a twin and the main differences were hair and eyes. "What are you doing? I expected Mom and Dad to ground you."

"Oh, Morgue, you're home." Darcy said as she began to turn.

It took Morgan a second to realize what she was looking at. The six-year-old's face was covered in blood as well as the front of her clothes. In her hand was a very large kitchen knife and it too was drenched in blood. The most noticeable difference that Morgan could see was the girl's eyes...they were purple. When she left Darcy had blue, now they were rich purple. What could've happened to her blue eyes make them purple...

Morgan looked again at the drops of blood and quickly realized what happened.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" She asked her sister, staring at the knife.

"Right over here." Darcy said, motioning towards the corpses behind the couch.

The still amber eyed girl stretched her head and noticed the legs of the woman she had been calling Mom. She recognized the heels.

Morgan began walking towards her sister, noticing the crazed look in her eyes, one she knew all too well. Darcy just continued smiling apparently not noticing the blood that had been on her clothes, face and hair, or that she was still holding the knife dripping onto the carpet.

"Hey, Darcy?" Morgan said warily.

"Yes Morgue? What's it?" Darcy asked.

The elder carefully came up behind Darcy, gripping onto her arm. "How about you put that knife down? Wouldn't want there to be any accidents right?" Morgan laughed nervously.

Darcy thought this over, tapping the knife on her chin. "Huh, I guess."

Slowly, Morgan reached over and slide the knife away from Darcy. "Darcy, how are you feeling?"

"Really, really great. It felt so good and when Mommy and Daddy told me to stop and I didn't it felt _way_ better. It was sad when they stopped screaming, I really liked that part. I don't like when they tell me to stop."

It took Morgan a second, but something clicked inside her mind.

"Crap," Morgan spoke, holding the knife like it was a dead rat. She carefully walked it over to the kitchen.

"You said a bad word!" Darcy yelled.

"You just murdered our parents, I'm pretty sure I can say crap." Morgan argued, placing the knife next to the sink. She ran towards the bathroom to pick something up, running back to the living room when she got it and took Darcy's hand. "Darce, we need to talk about something."

The straight haired twin looked at her sister confusedly. "Why? Did you want a turn Morgue?"

Morgan fiercely shook her head. "No freakin' way Darce, this is really important and I need you to listen carefully." She lifted the mirror up so Darcy could look at her reflection. "Take a look."

Her sister followed, not seeing a use in this. Staring into her reflection, it took her a second to notice a difference.

Her eyes. They weren't ocean blue anymore, they were dark purple. It was so weird to see her eyes as different color. The change was so shocking, the child started freaking out.

"My eyes? What happened to my eyes? Morgue something's wrong with my eyes! We need to get some help, or a veteran!" Darcy yelled.

"First, it's veterinarian and that's an animal doctor. What you're thinking about is a regular doctor, Darce, and you don't need that." Morgan explained.

"What?! Morgue my eyes are purple! That's no good!" Darcy said, pulling at her face while staring into the mirror, making sure the face was her own.

"There's something I need to tell you." The elder twin wrapped a comforting arm around her sister.

"What? Is it about my eyes?" Morgan nodded.

"Take a seat on the couch, this'll take some time." Placing the hand held mirror down, Darcy sat on one of their couches, her sister turned on the coffee table as to face her.

The amber eyed girl took a deep breath, trying to avoid the sight of her dead parents.

"Darcy, I'm not from here."

"Huh?" Darcy asked.

"I mean, yeah, I live here, but...damn it this is hard. Um...you see...I don't even think I'm a person. Or, at least human. Maybe I'm a subspecies or another step in human evolution. Either way, I'm not entirely human."

"I don't get it." Darcy said.

"You will. I'm a Jumper, a name I made when I realized there wasn't a name for it. It means I can _jump_ into places like TV, books, movies, comic books, things like that." Morgan explained. "Right now, I'm in a Horror Movie. _Child's Play_ , it follows a boy named Andy and his doll Chucky..."

"Like our friend!" Darcy cheered. "Chucky is dangerous. I saw him blow up that house!"

"Uh-huh, yeah, that's the whole point." Morgan said, getting a little aggravated. "It seems obvious that you aren't gonna piece this together, so I'll tell you. We're in a horror movie. One you weren't supposed to be in. Just me."

The next hour was spent explaining the whole thing to Darcy. She was confused and upset after a while, but a quick explanation from Morgan fixed that. Morgan went on to explain that before she came into _Child's Play_ , Morgan had a small problem with bloodlust. It nearly drove her crazy at times. It was now clear, that the bloodlust was inside Darcy. Thus, why her eyes changed color when she killed their parents.

Morgan went on explaining all other Jumps she had gone on. She even acted some of them out, making Darcy laugh. Morgan even began to laugh after a while, play acting a part she had played when she Jumped to _Peter Pan_. Some of the more confusing parts were when Morgan tried explaining bits of the 21st Century to her. At the end, the two were laughing hysterically.

"Okay, okay." Morgan laughed, taking breaths to calm herself down. "It's time to make up an alibi."

"A what?" Darcy asked.

"A story. We can't say you killed Mom or Dad. You would get arrested or thrown in the Looney Bin... again." Morgan explained, taking her sister's hand and walking her over to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Darcy asked as her sister started a bath.

"Making an alibi."

==DMLB==

The next morning, Darcy awoke with a smile. Her sister was still asleep, most likely exhausted after all the work she did the night before. Morgan had drawn a bath, brushed Darcy's hair, brush her own curly hair, got nightgowns ready, clean the knife and place it in the dishwasher, Morgan even managed to get their clothes for the next day ready.

It was a lot of work for a six-year-old, but Darcy had to reminded herself her sister wasn't six. She was one hundred and fifty-one. She was super old, it was a little sad.

Darcy remembered bits of the talk Morgan gave her. Morgan had explained that Darcy didn't exist before Morgan arrived, but the purple eyed girl had memories. Ones of their 5th birthday, when they met Andy, when their parents took them to the Toy Store or a restaurant. Darcy remembered when her parents took them to their first day of preschool. It was all fake? She had asked her sister. Morgan quickly said that they did happen, they just weren't supposed to.

It made her feel a little better.

Darcy got out of bed, she quietly walked over to the kitchen to find something for breakfast. She caught a peek of her mother's body lying on the floor with a knife wound in her back, covering the whole back and floor around her in blood. Darcy thought she should feel bad, at least a little bit. She didn't. The crazed six-year-old only watched her lifeless parent with a strange type of curiosity.

Sleepily, her sister stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes she hopped onto a small footstool and grabbed a cereal box from the shelves.

"Morgue?" Darcy asked.

"What." Morgan groaned.

"Why don't I feel bad?"

"Huh?" Morgan asked, pulling two bowls from another shelf.

"Why don't I feel bad about what I did? Mommy and Daddy are gone now, and I don't feel sad. Even an itsy bitsy bit." Darcy said, resting her chin on her arms.

Putting the two glass bowl down and walking over to her younger sister, Morgan wrapped an arm around her.

"I asked myself the same question. Granted, I didn't kill my parents, but still. It's sad to say, but it does get easier after a while. Now that I can tell it's gone, I feel awful about all of it. Every single drop of blood I wish I could give back, every broken bone would be fixed, every broken family put back together." Morgan gripped tightly onto Darcy. "But, I can't. It's the actions that make the man, and those actions have made me the girl I am today. And more importantly." Morgan turned and hugged her sister. "It made you."

Darcy returned the hug, gripping her sister tightly.

A moment passed, Morgan ended the hug and walked back to the bowls and cereal.

"Now let's get ready for preschool, we need to get that alibi set up. Remember, let me do all the talking." Her sister nodded, skipping off to the kitchen table.

That was the first time Morgan had told anyone about herself, and it felt good.

When they arrived at the school, Morgan had walked up to their teacher and gave her a warm smile.

"Hi Ms. Rachael."

The woman looked over at the two girls. "Oh, Morgan. Where are your parents?" The teacher asked after looking around the drop off zone.

"Mommy and Daddy were painting." Morgan said while Darcy smiled behind her.

"What?"

"Yeah. Mommy and Daddy were painting with weird red finger paint. But they got silly and split it on the floor and took a nap. They're sleeping on the living room floor and still were this morning. Our parents are silly." Morgan giggled, skipping into the classroom and to her desk.

Darcy did the same, and it was only the beginning of their story.

==DMLB==

 _Good times._

 _While I was daydreaming, Lilac had come back into the tent and fallen asleep._

 _Her birthday was tomorrow. Tomorrow. In a few hours._

 _I had to get home and tell Morgan. She needs to know this._

 _Just when I was expecting a quiet Wednesday._


	21. Happy 5th Birthday

_I laughed, pulling myself out of the water. I jokingly glared at Luna. "You enjoyed that way too much."_

 _The Night Princess tilted her head. Her shoulders scrunched up in a fake shrug._

 _I chuckled, tempted to throw a stick at her. "Joke's on you, Missy. We still have to train! You're fake-tail stills needs some calibrating. It would be nice if I had some more tools from Pinkie Gobber's shed, but I don't think I would make it out with them. Killjoy Astrid might catch me, and that isn't for a few more scenes."_

 _Hiccup Luna rolled her eyes._

" _Hey! Don't you dare mock my hard work!" I laughed. "You of all dragons should know how hard it is to create lucid dreams once a week! Plus, don't tell me this isn't any fun!"_

 _Luna just kept on laughing._

" _You're a jerk." I deadpanned, shaking off all the water. I trotted up to Luna's dragon form, when I saw the confused look on her face. "Hiccup Luna, you know I only say hurtful things to things I like! Why do you think I call my twin sister a slut? Or a psycho...witch...whore...dumbass...airhead...many other things that you wouldn't understand...I'm confusing like that." I blinked. "Maybe that's why I was declared insane in three countries, two planets, and one partridge in a pear tree?"_

 _The dragon laughed again, smacking me with her tail._

 _I was tossed back into the water._

" _ **BITCH WAKE UP!"**_ _A voice shouted._

==DMLB==

The first thing I noticed when I woke up, was that the sun hadn't risen. Usually, the sun shone right into my eyes.

"Guess what today is." My sister said in an almost worried voice.

Groaning, I lifted myself up. Why am I up before the sun? "Kill Darcy Day?"

*gulp* "What is something every kid looks forward to all year long?" Darcy changed subjects.

My brain struggled to figure out this freakin' puzzle my sister was giving me. It was too early for my brain to do any real work. Wait...wasn't she on a camping trip with Lilac? "Aren't you supposed to be camping?"

"Came back early. Just answer my question." Darcy ordered, that nervousness still in her voice.

"Christmas." I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

"Nope." Darcy immediately said.

"Halloween?"

"Guess again."

I groaned. This word puzzle was obviously centered around Lilac. "Valentine's Day?"

"Too icky."

"I freakin' cave." I said, collapsing back into my pillow. "Just tell me so I can sleep."

Darcy gulped. I could hear her hoof steps as she backed towards the door. "Their birthday. More specifically, Birthday Number Five."

My eyes snapped open. I practically jumped out of bed. "What."

Darcy was backed up against the door. An almost fearful expression was in her face. "Lilac told me last night that her birthday was tomorrow. Her fifth. She was really excited about it."

Fuck. Fuck. Fucky fuck fuck.

"You are shitting me." I said, my heart racing.

"I would never kid to you about birthdays." Darcy said firmly.

My mind raced. I jumped out of bed, trotting towards Darcy. "We have nothing planned, no cake, and no gifts." I was starting to panic. "And I only can think of three people to invite! What kind of child has three people at her fifth birthday party?!"

A pause. "What kind of child doesn't brag about their birthday until the actual day!"

*slap*

"Morgan Annie Spencer, straighten up." My little sister ordered.

I took a calming breath.

She gave me a salute. "So, Captain, what do we do?"

"I have no plan." I reminded her.

"But you're Morgan Spencer. You've come up with the weirdest plans I have ever seen in two seconds." Darcy encouraged, which is rare for her. "I bet you could figure out how to make this party good."

"Why not great?" I pointed out.

"You got twelve hours. You're a good planner, not a miracle worker"

I began to glare at my sister. "Challenge accepted."

==DMLB==

Once Killjoy had gone back to the campout to check on Lilac, I got to work.

I sat at my desk, feather pen in my amber magic. How was I going to do this? First, I'll need to set a time. After school hours, of course. I'll probably end up having the party here at the house. That meant I might have to do some spring cleaning.

Speaking of...what season was it? There was that weird shit with Fall and Winter coming weeks apart instead of months. It was November, according to the Calendar. Shouldn't it be colder outside? Was it another weird effect of cartoons?

Fuck! Morgan focus! Get your messed up head in the game! We have to plan a party!

...

Did I just say we?

FOCUS!

"Okay." I said, writing at the scroll in front of me. Scrolls are nice, paper is better. "We- _I_ need supplies." I wrote out what I knew I needed. "Purple balloons...blue streamers...plastic cups...plastic plates and other utensils..." I tapped the pen on my muzzle. "Hmm...some finger foods would be nice. Or are they hoof foods? Some fruit punch would be nice. Do they have soda? Should I get some soda? It won't be much of a party without soda. Gifts! I need gifts!"

All of this was being added to the list.

"Crap. What kind of gift could I give to Lilac? I don't know my kid enough to know what she wants! Fuck my life!" I groaned. "I could check her room. Any kid, no matter what universe, has a birthday wish list! If not, I can just profile Lilac and figure out what she would like! And if they don't have it here, I can just get it at Home!"

Picking the pen and scroll, I trotted towards Lilac's room.

The little dragon kept her room nice and clean. Her bed was made, but I could see the beginnings of the indent from where she slept in it. Looking around the walls, I saw a lot of the drawings she had made in Cheerilee's class. Some looked pretty good considering a four-year-old made it. She has the potential to be a good artist with proper training.

Picking up her school bag, I rifled through it to see if she hid the List in here.

It was mostly just her math homework, all bunched together. Lilac had been having some problems, even though it's kindergarten math. It's mostly just counting! Reading I can understand, even that shit gave me problems, but math?

I shook my head. Today was not a day to lose my mind! Freak Out Day wasn't for another few months.

Pulling out a few more sheets of paper, I realized that Lilac didn't have it in her backpack. I searched the rest of her room, finding only a lot of drawings. They were some nice drawings...of Equestria, Celestia and Luna, Cheerilee and the other foals, the Crusader's tree house. There was even a crayon drawing of Killjoy flying, and of me storytelling. It was impressive.

Still no list.

Looking over the room one last time, I made a decision.

"I need to go shopping."

==DMLB==

Ponyville has a really good party store.

Party Central was pretty big, maybe the size of Twilight's library. Multiple walls covered with party supplies, of all styles and colors. It had wrappings for gifts: gift bags, tissue paper, comic book (some Power Rangers/Avengers rip-off called Power Ponies) themed bags, and ribbons.

So. Much. Party.

Lifting up a small basket with my magic, I trotted around the store. The purples decorations were easy enough to find. The blue ones were giving me trouble.

I'm also had to think about the invitations. Should I buy the white cards or the purple cards? Or maybe the red ones? Another issue is getting the invites out in time for the party, and making a cake. A good honest cake, since I doubt ponies have Betty Crocker.

How am I gonna get all this stuff before Lilac comes home?

"Hiya Raspberry!"

Story, that is too helpful.

"Hi Pinkie." I said, turning to the party pony and giving her a smile. "Re-stocking?"

Pinkie grinned. "Yep! Gummy's first birthday is in two weeks on a Monday, so I have to get all the stuff he likes!"

"Oh?" I asked, looking over the invitation cards. Now I had Pinkie's birthday to think about. "What does he like?"

"All kinds of stuff!" Pinkie said. "He likes sarsaparilla, squeaky toys, parties, our special fruit punch, dance music, bobbing for apples, Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Pony, and taking bubble baths!"

I nodded. "That sounds good. Hey," The white cards were picked up in my magic. "I'm having a birthday party for Lilac-"

"WHAT?!" Pinkie yelled, grabbing my shoulders in her hooves. She started to shake. "Why didn't anypony tell me?! Do you need help throwing a party? Wait. You said you were throwing a party. When is the party? Is it today? Is that why you're at the party store? Do you want me to help? Where is it gonna be? Is it in the park? Is it at Sugarcube Corner? Can it be at Sugarcube Corner? Which birthday is it for her? Does Lilac like really really big parties like Dashie or small parties like Fluttershy?"

Pinkie gasped for air.

"Pinkie." I stopped her before she could go on. Her hooves were still on my shoulders. "Her fifth birthday party is around six pm tonight. She's a little shy, so I don't want a big party. It'll be at my house. I am shopping for it, and I'm currently picking out invitation cards. I'm handing them out at the school later, since I'm working there today." I said calmly. "Okay?"

Pinkie nodded. "Okie dokie!"

"Great." I picked up the last thing on my list. Streamers. "Do you mind if I come to Sugarcube Corner? I kinda need to do one more thing before I get to work."

"Anything for a friend!" Her hooves stretched from being on my shoulders to wrapping around my neck like a scarf.

Wow. This feels weird.

"Okay. That's enough of the hugging." I laughed nervously. "Seriously. The hug can stop." She was still hugging me. "Pinkie. You can let go now."

"Hehehe!" She giggled.

Pinkie let go of my neck, and I took a quick breath. "So...shall we get going? Once I pay for this, I mean."

==DMLB==

The bakery was a short walk. Maybe five minutes. Before I knew it, Pinkie and I were waiting around in the kitchen of the bakery.

"Okay so, you know how earlier I said I had one more thing to do?" I asked the pink earth pony.

"With what?" Pinkie smiled.

I took a deep breath. _"I melted the ice of the polar caps, found the raiders of the lost ark, solved a case for the genius from Baker Street, helped to clean the Central Park. I created the plan for the Chinese wall, went to desert, made it rain, swam through a shark tank bloodily, found Atlantis, by the way... (but today)._

" _I've got a cake to bake – I've got no clue at all."_

Pinkie grinned a classic Pinkie Grin.

I kept on singing. _"I've got a cake to bake – and haven't done that before. Don't be proud, mate please don't bother. Go, come on and ask your mother how to bake, how to bake, bake that cake..."_

Pinkie jumped excitedly on her hooves, grabbing one of mine. "Come on! Let's get started!"

She brought me into the kitchen, and I watched as she brought out a bunch of cake pans. "What kind of cake are we making, Raspberry?"

Nervously, I brought out the recipe my mom had. "Wacky Cake."

The pink earth pony read the recipe. "That is wacky!"

I nodded. " _I talked to a unicorn the other night, took me up on a lonely star, did the moonwalk on the milky way, realised I've gone too far. So I questioned the law of gravity, put the apple back up to the apple tree, ej tu nost: I even learned Latvian, I know it's so hard to believe... (and today)_

" _I've got a cake to bake – I've got no clue at all."_

The two of us began pulling out the ingredients needed for wacky cake. Thank the Story I asked Pinkie for help, I don't have half of this stuff back at my house.

" _I've got a cake to bake – and haven't done that before. Don't be proud, mate please don't bother, go, come on and ask your mother, how to bake, how to bake, bake that cake (piece of cake)."_

Pinkie began singing with me. " _We've got a cake to bake – and got no clue at all! We've got a cake to bake – and haven't done that before! Don't be proud, mate please don't bother, go, come on and ask your mother, how to bake, how to bake, bake that cake (piece of cake)!"_

Pulling up the recipe, I gave it a quick look. " _Mix some dough, add some love, let it bake, wait for it."_

Pinkie sang next. " _Mix some dough, add some love, let it bake, wait for it."_

Before long, we were able to push the cake into the oven. _"Mix some dough, add some love, let it bake, have some cake. Mix some dough, add some love, let it bake._

" _We've got a cake to bake – and got no clue at all._

 _We've got a cake to bake – and haven't done that before_

 _Don't be proud, mate please don't bother,_

 _Go, come on and ask your mother,_

 _How to bake, how to bake, bake that cake!"_

The two of us fell to the ground, waiting for the oven to finish baking the wacky cake.

"I still can't believe you're helping with this." I sighed.

Pinkie suddenly came and took the bowl from me, pouring it's contents into cake pans. The pastry chef put of baking gloves, while her tail opened the oven.

She grabbed the cake pans with her forehooves, carefully placing them in the oven.

"Anything for a friend~!" Pinkie Pie sang. "I'm gonna check out the cake!"

My horn glowed with my yellow magic, lifting my camera from...where did I put that thing?

I moved my head just slightly, trying to get into the shot.

*click*

*clang*

"What was that?!" Pinkie asked. The oven door slamming shut behind her.

"Nothing." I lied, hiding the camera wherever it was before.

Another photo for the Album.

==DMLB==

Gift shopping, my third favorite pastime.

Gift selection is a delicate process, you can't just go about it willy nilly. It requires an intimate knowledge of the receiver, and knowledge of what they already have. You have to take into account the things the receiver has on-hand. Example: if you buy them paint, they have to have something to paint on. You can't just get something generic, like a card, since they might already be expecting that. You especially can't give them a card with no money in it, that's just logic.

For five-year olds it's easy: don't get them anything they could accidentally swallow, don't get them something really noisy, and get them something pretty.

So, that is why I was standing in front of this large shop.

A stallion came up to the double door, he grinned at me. His canvas white coat blended well with the walls, but he was easily spottable thanks to his dark blue mane and red hat. His aqua blue eyes were pretty noticeable too. He was wearing a light blue apron, with yellow paint splotches and an orange pocket up at the front.

"Hello!" He cheered, a heavy Prench accent. In his profession, why were they all Prench? "Vat can I get for you today?" He asked.

"Well...my daughter is a beginner, so...do you have anything for first timers?" I asked him.

The work stallion nodded. "But of course! I have many, many tools for ze first timers! Is there any type that she haz shown interest in?" Man, Prench people talk funny. It was hard not to smile at his pronunciations.

I nodded. "Yes. I can say that she does have a preference."

==DMLB==

Lilac's present was wrapped, the house had all it needed to be decorated, Pinkie assured me that the cake would be done by the party, and now all that was left was to send out the invites. That, and get to work. I don't have much of a lesson plan, but I was always the kind of person that preferred when the teacher had the huge TV set out.

All I really needed to do was pick out a movie, then add ponies. I hadn't really done it since my first day on the job, since I really liked the word method. It's the one that really drew them in. Today, I just couldn't calm myself down enough to try. I would end up talking faster than any of the foals could handle.

I walked into the schoolroom, half-ready for the day.

"What's up, kiddos?" I asked, going up to Cheerilee's desk.

"What's up, Miss Raspberry." The class called back.

I took a small breath. "As you all know, Lilac is not here today due to her dietary dragon needs, so I will be passing these out myself."

The invites came out from my saddlebags, and floated over to each foal in the class. Yes, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Rule of Children's Parties: Everybody's invited, whether you want them there or not.

"She's awful excited about it." I clapped my hooves on the desk. "Now, today's st-"

"Is it true Lilac needs to eat meat?"

My lips tightened. "I sure hope nopony is speaking out of turn." I said, looking at the pink earth pony without turning my head. "Because I know we discussed raising our hooves to speak."

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, lifting her hoof.

"Diamond Tiara!" I said, pointing right at the filly. "Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

"Is it true that Lilac needs to eat meat?" She asked.

I nodded. "Lilac is a dragon. Although they can eat pony food, as well as gems, they need a good sense of iron, which comes from foods like meat, poultry, and fish."

"Meat?" Diamond Tiara said, in her usual annoying way that I expected. "Like, from ponies?"

"No. Not like _'from ponies'_." I explained. "Lilac doesn't like eating meat, she prefers gems and fish." I didn't like where this was going. "Lilac doesn't eat anything with fur."

"Does she-"

"Anymore questions about Lilac's diet will be ignored." I said. "Now, as I was saying, today's story-"

"Miss Raspberry?"

"Yes, Silver Spoon?" I said, sounding as nice as I could even though I was interrupted twice.

The silver filly rubbed her chin. "If Lilac eats that stuff, does that mean it will be at the party?"

"No. No fish, or other styles of meat, will be at the party." I said. "Now, if the interruptions are done, I can begin. Is that alright?"

The foals, minus the bullies, nodded and gave affirmations.

"Perfect! Now...this story starts here..." I pulled up a projection of a tree with a wanted poster. "With the narration of Flynn Flyer."

" _This is the story of how I died...well, not really. I'm it's not even really my story."_

A bad feeling was growing in the pit of my stomach.

==DMLB==

 _Darcy/Killjoy_

The trip back was even longer the trip to the campsite. Maybe it was because Lilac and I were carrying all of this heavy shit back to the house? It was especially bad ebcause Lilac couldn't carry that much stuff.

We got to the house at five thirty in the afternoon, the sky was orange.

I knocked on the front door, waiting for her to show.

Raspberry opened the door, a wide eyed look on her. I didn't really feel bad leaving her behind to handle this, since I know she's done the the same for me when I was growing up. Granted, she had more than twelve hours.

"Killjoy! Lilac! You're back!" She cheered, sounding much cheerier than I expected. "Here, let me take the gear."

Her horn glowed amber, taking the gear off my back. I collapsed onto the grass. Lilac giggled.

"Sweetie, head upstairs. You're party starts in half-hour. I still have to set it up, and I want it to be amazing!"

"My party!" She gasped.

"What? Did you think I would forget your birthday?" Raspberry laughed nervously. "Cause I didn't. Who would forget their child's birthday?"

Lilac ran up the stairs. Raspberry followed, behind her. I followed her, because I was too bored to do anything else.

We arrived at her bedroom, and Raspberry pushed our gear under the bed. She turned to me and smiled. The door closed thanks to her magic.

"Darce...do you have any idea what I had do to today to get this party together?"

"Sell your soul to a devil?"

"I may as well have! I had Pinkie make a cake, had to buy party supplies, then I searched all over Ponyville for the right store so I could get her a gift, and then I had to make and hand out the invites at her school!"

I tilted my head. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"Those kids now think that Lilac eats meat! Nopony is here and the party starts soon! The cake isn't here yet! My decorations still aren't finished-"

"The gift?" I asked, praying to the Story that I hadn't jinxed it.

Raspberry's eyes shrunk. "Fok." Raspberry dashed off towards the bed, looking underneath it. "Son of a biscuit eatin' frog turd."

"I know it's bad when you talk like that." I winced.

"KJ it's falling apart!" Raspberry panicked.

"You're just panicking." I pointed out, boredly.

"Why shouldn't I?!" She yelled, her eyes going wide. Cartoon worlds suck. "The cake isn't here, the present is missing, and nopony is here!"

"Just because you like to be at a party twenty minutes early, doesn't mean everybody does." I said, rolling my purple eyes.

Raspberry scoffed. "Sure. Be that way. Lilac doesn't know that nobody is downstairs. She thinks everypony came to her birthday party!"

"Maybe she's like me and doesn't want much people." I suggested, trying half-heartedly to get my sister to calm down. "Or, maybe, ponies hit traffic because our house is on the edge of town."

Raspberry just kept on panicking. I was almost about to blow. "Look, Morgue, breathe. I can practically see Sam bulging on your skull!"

My sister stopped her rapid breathing, turning to me with a confused look. "I thought his name was Thomas."

" _Her_ name is Sam, and she shows up when your Plan starts to fall apart." I said, pointing at where Thomas was. "He's down here, around your neck. Sam is up here, right where my scar is on me." I pointed just below her hairline. "Sam is fun, Thomas is boring."

Raspberry groaned, sounding tired. "I told you to stop naming my blood vessels."

"No, you said to stop naming them after guys. I named it after a girl." I said, patting her head. "So, I did nothing wrong."

"I hate you." My twin sister deadpanned.

"Yes. Please. Your hate gives me power." I laughed.

Raspberry sighed. "How is me calming down gonna help find her present?"

I smirked. "Where did you put it?"

"Under my bed." Great. She was getting better.

"Was it there?"

"No. Otherwise, we wouldn't have this problem."

"Did you move it maybe, so you could put away the camp gear?"

"I didn't mov-" Raspberry stopped, realization in her amber eyes. "I moved it right before I started decorating. I didn't want her to find it!" She turned to me and smiled. "I moved it to the dresser!"

Watching Razz run towards her dresser, she yanked a drawer open. Inside was a present wrapped in blue paper and a purple ribbon. I smirked.

"Ya see, when ya calm down you figure shit out." I said.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"And those are the guests, or Pinkie with the cake." I said.

"Pinkie wouldn't stop knocking." Raspberry said, picking up the box in her amber magic.

*knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock*

"Found the cake." I laughed. My hoof gripped Razz's shoulder. "Now, let's have this party. Then, maybe we can chill."

"Actually...we need to go somewhere tonight. For the Plan."

I groaned. "Where?"

"Ghastly Gorge." Raspberry smiled, and we walked out of her room.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

The party was in full swing. Most of the foals from the school had come, bringing some of their parents. Little Dinky brought her mother, Derpy. Rumble brought his brother, Thunderlane who brought his girlfriend Flitter. Twist brought her mother, Roseluck. Sweetie Belle brought Rarity. Scootaloo brought her mother (I knew she had one), an earth pony mare named Melon Cream. Finally, there was Apple Bloom brought along Applejack, who was actually acting nice towards Killjoy. I guess AJ forgave KJ. I wasn't really able to tell with the rest of them, who belonged to who.

Oh, and Pinkie was here. She brought the cake, all nice and pretty. It was iced with blue icing, with red little decorations made of icing along the sides. On the top, written in purple, was _Happy 5th Birthday, Lilac!_

Yay!

"Present time!" I cheered loudly.

The kids all stopped where they were, running towards the living room where a pile of presents sat on a coffee table.

Lilac sat on the couch, watching the presents. For a small second, I was reminded of what happened on Spike's birthday. Would the same thing happen with Lilac? No...she had been having multiple birthdays with this mare, so she had been getting the same (if not more) gifts each birthday.

I pulled out the present for her, lowering it in front of her. "This one is from me." I said, watching with anticipation.

The dragon tore apart the wrapping, revealing a brown briefcase. She quickly opened it, her fingers coming in handy, and her jaw dropped.

"Is...Is this-"

"You're really good, with this you can be great." I said.

It was a painting kit. Multiple little tubes of paint, lots of brushes of various sizes, watercolors, pastels, finger paint, and two black pencils. I had talked with the store clerk for half an hour before we finally agreed that this was the gift for Lilac.

"You like?" I asked her.

Lilac turned to me, a large smile on her face. "I love it!" She leapt up, wrapping her claws around my neck. "Thank you Mommy!"

I let out a sigh of relief. It was so nice to know she liked the gift.

==DMLB==

The two of us balanced ourselves out, panting. We had just barely missed being eaten alive by one of those quarry eels. That rockslide didn't help, either.

"How much longer until we find whatever it is you dragged me here for?" Killjoy groaned.

"There wouldn't be a problem, if you hadn't flown into one of the quarry eel holes." I growled, brushing some dust off.

My partner in crime scoffed. "Yeah, well maybe if you hadn't forgotten that telling me not to do something only makes me want to do it more!"

I wanted to scream at her, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. The rocks could slide again. I pulled out the note I had made from Sapphire Quarry's journal. "It should be right around here. Rarity's gem finder spell should help."

The spell was easy to replicate. It's a little side-skill I had; duplication. The saying monkey see, monkey do, was the best description. You did something, I could repeat it. The only real problem was that it took a few tries to get right the first time around.

My magic lit up the area around in a field of bright amber. Soon, little pockets of green and blue gems could be seen. I looked for the biggest pocket of green ones. I needed to get as many as I could so I could get the messages right.

"Here." I said, marking a spot down with my magic. "We dig here.

My sister flew over to the spot, just a yard or three ahead of us. She began digging at it like a child digs at cake. I used my magic to gather the dirt and remove it.

"Jewels?" KIlljoy panted, brushing dirt off her hooves.. "We nearly got eaten alive for a bunch of jewels that we could just dig up over at that field?!"

"You wanna deal with those dogs again?" I asked. "Plus, these gems are different."

Using my magic, I pulled one of them out. It came with a pop. "Remember when I made you watch the Star Wars movies?"

"I wanted to be on the Dark Side, but you already went there." Killjoy pouted.

I nodded. "Remember when Princess Leia came Obi Wan from R2D2?"

"If I say yes can I go home?" Killjoy groaned.

I rolled my eyes. "These gems work like that."

"So?"

"So..." I smiled at her. "They'll be a way to be in two places at one."


	22. A Me Party

"Hey Pinkie Pie."

The pony glared at me, hate in her blue eyes. It was a strange sight. Her eyes crossed, and she walked to the pile of rocks. "What's the chump doin' 'ere?"

I smirked. "This chump is here to celebrate Gummy's after-birthday party."

Pinkie made the rocks scoff. "Nopony's comin' to the party, chump!"

"You came to the party, so what does that make you...chump?" I challenged.

The rocks stopped. Pinkie went up to Madame Flour.

"Oh, and just vat is it that you plan to do?" The french sack of flour asked me.

"I plan on celebrating with Pinkie." I looked up at Pinkie. "Because she's my friend."

Pinkie broke out of Madame Flour's character, smiling at me. "R-Really? You still want to be my friend?"

"Of course I do!" I said, walking up to her side. My right hoof wrapped around her shoulder. "Why wouldn't wanna be friends with the coolest party pony around?"

Pinkie started grin, and I think I saw some hairs curl. They were gone in a blink. The pink pony grabbed Sir Lintsalot.

"You lie!" She yelled. She kinda sounded like an impression of Rarity.

I shook my head. "I lie, yes, but I never lie about a birthday."

It had been an interesting two weeks, since Lilac's birthday. Twilight got an owl, for one thing. That was a fun day. I can't really blame Spike for being jealous. Owls were pretty awesome.

Then, on Monday morning, I got a singing telegram to come to Gummy's party. Even thought the invite said no gifts, I left one anonymously. Sugar cookie bubble bath mix. I can't help giving gifts!

I brought myself into the birthday party for Pinkie. When the decorated the party, I helped. Rainbow Dash was just about to offer to get the despondent Pinkie, but I stepped in.

So here I was, trying to convince Pinkie Pie to come to her own birthday party. It was entertaining.

I cut myself a slice of cake, bringing it in front of me. "So, Gummy is a whole year old?"

Pinkie smiled, her still flat and body still gray-ish. "Yep! I got him as an egg fourteen months ago, and he finally hatched one year ago yesterday!"

I laughed. "Yeah. When I found Lilac, (thought technically, she found me), it was closer for three months for her to hatch. The cutest little dragon on the planet."

"What about Spike?" Pinkie asked.

"Spike is awesome." I said. "Not Dash awesome, but still awesome."

"Really?"

"Dash is twenty percent cooler than Spike." I laughed. I thought now was a good time to get Pinkie to talk. "So, Pinkie, why are you so...upset?"

The party pony groaned, dropping into her chair with a deep scowl on her muzzle. She rolled her still bright blue eyes. "I invited everypony to this party, but Nopony came! They've been avoiding me, and lying to me! And, I heard from a very reliable source, that they don't want to be my friends anymore!"

Her eyes crossed. She grabbed Rocky. "Yeah! Those chumps don't wanna be her friends? Then she don't wanna be their friends!"

"Pinkie, they are all still your friends." I comforted. "And, I have in on a much better source, that they are actually planning a super secret event."

Pinkie's eyes uncrossed, she gave me a curious look. "You do?"

I nodded. "Yep. Right now, they're all at Applejack's barn, putting the last of this plan together. It's supposed to be a really big surprise."

Pinkie Pie growled, smacking her hoof on the table. "I knew it was at Applejack's!" She declared.

I smirked. "Hey, you wanna go over there and crash the party?"

The sad mare thought it over for a moment. "But...Gummy's after party-"

"-Gummy can come with us!" I said, already having a plan if she asked this. "We can make this a Mystery Solving Party!"

Using my magic, I pulled out a Sherlock hat, bubble blow pipe, and Watson's cap.

I floated the Sherlock cap to Pinkie. "What do ya say, Detective Pinkie?"

Pinkie looked at the hat. There was some curls added to her mane, and more color to her coat. She grabbed the hat and placed it on her head. She also took the pipe. "Come on Gummy." She picked up the alligator, his party hat falling off. "We have a mystery to solve."

I grinned, putting on the Watson hat.

==DMLB==

We arrived at the barn fairly quickly. Pinkie was hiding behind a lot of the objects, looking over towards the barn.

I snuck up behind her, whispering "So, any plans?"

Pinkie blew bubbles from the pipe. Another curl popped up in her mane. "We get the jump on those ex-friends of mine. Sneak in through the window and see their plans, then jump out at them."

I nodded. "They might be expecting that." I said. "How about a full frontal assault."

"What?" Pinkie asked.

"We walk in through the front door." I explained, pointing a hoof at the door. "They won't be expecting that."

"I don't know. What do you think, Gummy?" Pinkie asked, looking back at the alligator.

Gummy blinked his purple eyes.

Pinkie grinned. "Great! Let's do it, Watson!"

I smiled. Pinkie's whole form went up in brightness. She was still gray, but it was getting better.

The three of us ran up to the door, i held the doorknobs with my magic, preparing to open them.

"Three." I said.

"Two." Pinkie said, a serious look on her face.

Gummy blinked.

I opened the doors wide. Pinkie jumped inside, landing in the middle of the barn.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy jumped out. Their hooves all in the air.

"SURPRISE!" They all yelled.

I jumped next to Pinkie, holding out my hoof. "Happy Birthday!" I said in my Frosty impression.

Pinkie's jaw dropped. "What?"

"It's your surprise birthday party!" I said. "Twilight planned it, Rarity designed the party hats, Applejack helped set up and gave the barn for use, Fluttershy also helped set up, Rainbow Dash helped get the cake. Twilight got Mrs. Cake to make your favorite: strawberry cake with chocolate and strawberry icing."

I walked into her eyesight. "And I helped bring you here! Oh, and we all got you presents!" I cheered.

Twilight trotted up. "So...what do you think Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie just looked forward, a blank expression on her face. It's kinda off creepy. The rest of us started feeling a little off put and dejected, until...

The party pony exploded in color. Her body becoming bubblegum pink. Her man came back to color too, turning into cotton candy. Instead of a growl or frustrated frown, she had a face cracking smile.

"You girls are the best friends ever! How could I have ever doubted you?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight smiled, gracefully. "It's okay, Pinkie Pie. It could have happened to any of us."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Uh-huh! It sure would."

"Don't worry about it." Fluttershy whispered.

Applejack scoffed. "All right, girls! Enough of this gab. Let's party!"

I went up to the record player, setting up the song I brought back from Home.

" _Party rocker's in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time! And we gon make you lose your mind! We just wanna see ya...shake that!"_

With that, the party was on in full swing.

==DMLB==

 _Twilight Sparkle_

I held up a quill in my magic, writing out my letter to the Princess. "Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing to you from the most delightful party."

Looking over the party, I saw everypony gathered around the present table. Pinkie was happily opening a present wrapped in yellow and blue wrapping.

I smiled. "I'm not only having a great time with my friends, but also was given the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson about friendship."

Pinkie Pie gasped. "Oh My Gosh! This is amazing!"

I looked over to see what it was. Pinkie was holding up a giant pink and blue contraption. It looked very strange.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's _The Amazing Kupkakeinator_." Raspberry Stardust said. "An old colleague invented this thing that could make cupcakes out of anything, and I do mean anything. I had to go find another colleague to help recreate one of these."

Then, I saw something on Raspberry Stardust that I had never seen before. Fear.

"Do you..." She rubbed her hooves together. "Do you like it?"

Pinkie lifted the Kupkakeinator into the sky. "I love it!" She said, hugging it like it was some stuffed animal. "I always love getting new cupcake recipes, and I can make some great ones with this!" Pinkie gave what I believed to be her signature grin. "Thanks Raspberry!"

The look of fear left Raspberry, and was replaced with relief. She was scared of Pinkie not liking her present? Being scared of tests is one thing, but this?

No. I can't think of her like that. Just because she is different than me, does not mean I can judge. It probably took a lot of courage to tell me her greatest fear.

"Always expect the best from your friends, and never assume the worst." I said, going back to the Friendship Report. "Rest assured that a good friend always has your best interests at heart. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

==DMLB==

 _Princess Luna_

The weekly meeting between Raspberry Stardust and I hath commenced once more. This week we were performing _'Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror'_ , in which I played Luna Garcia-Shapiro. It was an interesting character, I will admit.

Raspberry and her sister, Killjoy, created a large beach in their backyard. It came with an ocean and everything. Off in the distance there was a volcano, this came as a surprise to me.

Their _'older'_ sister, Gleaming appeared some time ago. Trying to _'bust'_ her sisters. It did not work.

I approached Raspberry, and asked her "why does she continually try to bust you, when it never works?"

The pink unicorn explained it to me. "It's really simple. Gleaming is a basic sister, who wants to protect her younger siblings. At first, it may have been just to get them in trouble, but with time it became a need to protect us from these destructive things that disappear every day."

I nodded, understanding an elder sister's need to protect the other sisters. "Another good question. How do these things disappear every day?"

Raspberry smirked, looking out towards the volcano. "Maybe someday I'll show you."

Then, the volcano exploded. Not with lava, but with lawn gnomes.

"RUN! IT'S GNOMEAGGEDON!" A random pony yelled.

Raspberry grabbed My hoof. "Come! We must escaped before the beach vanishes!"

The two of us began running towards the backyard. Looking back, I saw something that made my jaw drop.

Little Lilac was riding a strange contraption, that looked like a carriage but for water usage. She wore a brown fedora on her head. I could barely make out the serious expression on her face.

Sitting behind her, was a creature We thought We would never see again.

He was tall, though not as tall as We recall. He wore a white lab coat, which covered up his mismatched arms. He claws were wrapped around Lilac, and a scared look was on his face.

He turned back to look at the volcano, screaming at the sight of the lawn gnomes.

We could hear a voice call out "Save me, Lilac the Lizard. Save me!"

Something grabbed Our hoof, dragging us away from the beach. Looking at this figure, I saw Raspberry Stardust. She was grinning wide. "You gotta be careful, Lune! You never know what's happening when you aren't looking!"

We could not agree with thee more.

Raspberry grimaced, shaking her head. "Sorry. Almost read your thoughts again."


	23. Morgan and Darcy at the Gala

**I fucked up! I am so sorry!**

 **==DMLB==**

Tonight was the Gala.

Let it be known, that even though Doctor ruins ever party he goes to, I do not. Half of the parties I go to end up with something attacking, the other half I wanted to die of boredom.

My dress is slimming, which is great. I loved it, in that I might actually use it again. I wonder how dresses made for ponies transfer to humans?

My sister was less excited about her dress. She likes wearing revealing clothing, and a fancy dress for a fancy ball isn't her idea of a good time. It was gray, like her hair, with purple bits here and there.

The Grand Galloping Gala was in a few hours. Killjoy and I went to Rarity's Boutique yesterday just to be sure the dresses were nice. I have experience when it comes to dresses not fitting before the event.

Lilac still loved her dress, although it was explained to her that the Gala was past her bedtime. She was upset, but I told her that I had found her a foalsitter that could watch her for the night, until we got back. A mare named Amethyst Star, who had some kind of family connection to Dinky and Derpy. I wasn't sure what yet, but I know it's there.

I had originally wanted to bring Lilac to the Gala, but thought better of it. Her field trip to Canterlot was in one week. That meant one week until Discord showed up. I had seen those episodes hundreds of times. Discord actually seemed like a nice enough guy. He didn't hurt anyone, from what I saw. It was all actually kinda funny.

He was like...he was like Loki. A kid who just wanted somebody to be their friend. I've known a lot of people who had reality bending powers, some I've seen on TV. All of them had the name Freak somewhere in their title. Did Discord just want someone to laugh at his jokes?

Ya know, it's kinda like Luna. No one likes his stuff, so he lashed out. I looked at a lot of theorems. People think Discord was the last of his kind.

"Yo, you want a minute alone with your mac 'n cheese?" Killjoy asked.

"My what?" I asked.

Killjoy and Lilac giggled.

"Sis, you were zoned out big time." Killjoy laughed. "You were this close to falling into your food. I wanted to run up and get the camera so I could take a picture."

"But I said...dat it was mean, and she should not be mean." Lilac explained.

I shook my head, looking down to see my plate of macaroni and cheese. It felt lukewarm.

"Killjoy." I grumbled. "You are _such_ a killjoy. Oomf."

Killjoy had thrown a spoonful of macaroni at my head. It wasn't very fun.

"Jokes on you. Now you have to clean up me clean my hair." I stated.

"Just use your magic, Razzle Dazzle." Killjoy laughed.

Lilac laughed too.

==DMLB==

"Lilac, honey, you have to stay here." I said an hour later.

"But Mom!" Lilac whined. "I wanna go!"

"You'll have more fun with Dinky than you will with me. Trust me." I admitted. "These parties are boring, and slow, and full of grown-ups."

"But you're going!"

"So I can mess with Sparkle of Twilight." I explained. I leaned in closer, my voice in a whisper. "Who knows. You might get another friend out of it."

Lilac started to smile. She ran off towards Dinky's room.

I trotted over towards Amethyst. "Thanks for watching her tonight."

The purple unicorn waved a hoof. "It's no problem. Dinky could always use a good chance at making some friends. Plus, she says you're a great story teller."

"That's the general census." I agreed I shuffled my hoof on the floor. "Umm, sorry if you get asked this a lot, or if it's too personal, but, just how exactly are you related to Miss Hooves?"

Amethyst nodded, a kind of accepting look on her face. "She's my adoptive mother."

"Oh! Okay." I nodded. "Sorry. It's just...I've heard some...weird rumors. I just wanted to be sure. I really hate those kinds of rumors."

"Really? You seem like a type of pony who loves rumors." Amethyst countered.

I grinned. "I like when I proof a rumor to be something more than just a rumor. Every lie comes from a stem of truth, as they say." I started towards the door. "I should be here later to pick Lilac up. I plan to pay your standard hourly rate. If she's asleep, then it's totally okay."

Amethyst nodded. "I'll see you later, Miss Stardust."

"You're watching my daughter." I said with ease. Why did I keep doing that? "Please, call me Razz."

==DMLB==

Killjoy laughed, applying mascara to her eyelashes. She gave me a questioning look. "You sure you don't want any?"

"I'm good." I chuckled, using my hair do spell to perfect my hair. "I prefer a natural look."

"I prefer being inhuman." Killjoy laughed. "So." She began in a stereotypical teenager tone. "I told Cherise to just let Sibby be, but she was still mad that Cherise stole her man Tony."

I laughed. "Oh no she didn't."

"Oh yes she didn't." Killjoy said in her teenager voice. "Tony was gettin' his junk all up in Sibby's business." She leaned towards me. I was laughing. "I heard from Cindy, who heard from her cousin Sammy, who heard from his neighbor Bobby-"

"I cave! Hahaha! I cave!" I laughed, smacking her hoof. "Haha! Just stop talking like that! Haha! I can't take it anymore!"

Killjoy laughed with me. It was good to know I have a friend like her. "Oh please, Razz. You were about to join in." She bragged.

"No." I failed to keep from smiling.

==DMLB==

"You're telling me Sparkle is from here?" Killjoy asked

"Yep."

"I totally found a new reason to hate her."

"You don't hate her, you hate Canterlot."

"That's her new name! From this point on, I'm calling her Canterlot." Killjoy decided.

I rolled my eyes, looking over the large expanse of city.

The sun had set an hour ago, so a bunch of street lamps were on. It made the town seem just a little more alive. It probably looked way better during the day. I could make out various shops I had seen on the wedding episode.

"Okay. So, how are we breaking into the party this time?" Killjoy asked.

I nodded, reaching back towards my saddlebag. "The best way to break in. Right through the front door."

Killjoy chuckled. "Alright Einstein. Seriously, how are we-"

"We are Ladies of the House of Stardust. I received an invitation to the Gala, and a plus one." I boasted, bringing out the slip of paper. "See."

Killjoy took the paper in her hooves. She smirked. "You stole Psychic Paper?"

"Stole isn't the right word." I said, taking the paper back. "I replicated it. Totally different thing."

"Copying _is_ stealing."

"Hello pot, I'm kettle." I joked.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Killjoy asked, sounding angry. Not rage, more like annoyance.

"It means that when I brought you Home, you stole gasoline, lighters, and a video camera. You then decided to light a house on fire." I said, starting to grin at the memory of her calling and asking for my assistance.

Killjoy pouted. " _Great Storyline_! You're like everything bad in the universe put together. The worrying heart of a mom, the soul of a lawyer, and the brain of a genie."

"Ha! Like lawyers have souls." I joked. My sister laughed with me.

It took only a few minutes to get to the Royal Palace. It did look pretty fantastic, but when you're as old as I am castles and palaces lose their flair.

Killjoy and I walked right up to the front gate. There was a guard, a gray stallion in golden armor. I showed the guard my psychic paper. He nodded, letting my sister and I through.

Then, from behind us, we heard music start to play.

Killjoy rolled her eyes. "They keep bursting into song."

"Because they're cartoons." I told her. "Girly cartoons. Those ones have lots of songs." I put the psychic paper away. "I'm actually a little surprised the paper worked."

"Why?" Killjoy asked.

"Because ponies have a completely different mindset than most humans, and the paper doesn't work on major level psychics. The chemical make-up of the ponies mind, especially unicorns, is high levels of telepathy and telepathy based magic, so the guard should have seen through it." I tapped my chin. "Maybe he was a pegasus? I wasn't able to get a good enough look."

Then, I noticed my sister was pretending to sleep. I smacked her arm. "Ouch!"

"You ask me questions, and then you fall asleep." I said, annoyed.

"Well, _Doctor Reid_ ," She mocked. I blushed. "Maybe if you stopped giving boring speeches I would listen more."

"Maybe if you grew a brain in that empty head you would know what I'm talking about."

"Egghead." Killjoy mocked.

"Airhead." I mocked back.

==DMLB==

The Gala was one of those parties where I wanted to die of boredom.

"This party blows." Killjoy groaned beside me.

"Shut up, KJ." I rolled my eyes. "There are ponies around."

"Cause we're in a line!" She groaned.

We were in the line of ponies wanting to see Celestia. We had been in it since the song ended, since I had a feeling the line would be comically long. We had ten ponies ahead of us.

"To mess with Twilight." I explained for what felt like the billionth time.

Killjoy grumbled, folding her hooves together. "Still stupid."

I rolled my eyes. "KJ, come on. You think I like being in a line any more than you do?"

"You love lines."

"You're just projecting your feelings of rage onto a less threatening target." I said.

"Damn you and your damn Profiler friends." Darcy grumbled.

I snickered, looking up. "Here we go." I said, realizing we had moved to the front of the line.

The ponies in front of us moved away. I trotted right up to Celestia, and bowed.

"Hello Tia." I said, shaking Princess Celestia hoof.

Princess Celestia shook back. "Hello Raspberry. When did you get an invitation?"

I held up the psychic paper, showing her the ticket. She nodded. "Well, I hope you have a wonderful evening." I nodded, scooting over to the pony beside her.

Twilight gave me a deadpan look. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope." I popped my _'p'_. "How's the Gala?"

"It's great." Twilight said, with a strained smile.

"Yeah. I'm actually surprised I was able to get in." I admitted. "But, it is really great to see you, Sparkle of Twilight."

With that, I walked away, waiting for Killjoy.

The blood red pegasus just gave the two head nods. "Zup Celestia." She turned to Twilight. "Zup Canterlot."

I facehoofed, but still waited patiently for her to come over.

"There. You had some fun with your friend. Can we do stuff now?" Killjoy groaned like a child.

"You set up the cameras." I told her, giving her a small hoofbag filled with tiny cameras I may or may not have stolen from OSS. "I need to check on something for next week."

==DMLB==

"So, what's with Frankenstein?"

I scoffed. "This is Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony."

Killjoy hummed. "I thought that's what I was." I laughed, turning to her. She wasn't holding that bag anymore, I assume she threw it away. She wasn't touching the ground, instead opting to hover at least six inches.

"No, you're just fucked in your head." I joked, looking over the statue again. "Keep your voice down, too. There's a really good chance that he can hear what is being said."

"Oh?" Killjoy said, in a playful tone.

I glared at my sister. "KJ, I ain't kidding."

She flew up into Discord's face.

"Too much chaos around his statue and he'll break out."

"I'm not gonna do anything _chaotic_." She groaned.

"If he breaks out, you'll have ruined the Plan."

Killjoy stopped in her mid-air tracks. She groaned as she floated back to the ground. "I hate you."

"Your hate gives me power." I droned, walking off in a random direction.

"Hey! That's my line!"

"Is not ya greedy little bottom feeder!" I laughed.

Killjoy and I trotted around the garden in silence for the next ten minutes. Then, her dress almost getting caught on a branch.

"I swear, sis, why did I have to wear a dress? I would've been happy with a nice, sexy jacket!"

I laughed at Killjoy, she was always like that sometimes. "Maybe, KJ, if you weren't so much of a _buzzkill_ you would be wearing a jacket, plus you look girlier in a dress." I taunted.

My sister glared her purple eyes. "You're making the buzzkill/killjoy joke again. Great Storyline, Razz, if you weren't my ride home I would _so_ ditch you."

"Ha! If I left you alone for _two seconds_ you would try and do it with every unmarried stallion in there!" I joked.

The red pegasus rolled her eyes, brushing her braided mane back. "Pah-lease, I could easily get the married ones."

"Are you saying the Killjoy Stardust is gonna be the Next Slut of Canterlot?"

She faked gasped. "I'll be the Top of the Town!"

"Except for some nights when you're the bottom." I laughed.

"At least I'll get some." Killjoy mocked.

"When I _do_ get somepony, they'll stay with me for more than a day, or should I say night?" Moving some mane from my eyes, I skipped ahead of Killjoy.

My sister floated above me, lightly punching my shoulder. "You're such a prude Razz, maybe you should be named Killjoy."

I lifted my nose up in sophistication. "My, my, dear sister, are you saying I'm not the Life of the Party? You're certainly the Death of It."

KJ laughed. "Am not!"

"Are too!" I yelled.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"D-2!"

"Are- hehehe, funny."

"I know, and, Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Before I could yell back, I felt something wash over me. It felt cold at first, but it slowly got warmer. When it reached a nice warmth, it shifted to Antarctica Cold.

"Well, Killjoy, I would hate to have _your_ name. It's as cursed as your face." I mocked.

Killjoy growled. "Me cursed? You clearly haven't looked at your life lately. Tell me, when was the last time you went out and and some fun? Oh, right, it was _thirty days ago_."

I gasped. "You bitch! I hope you get a new kind of STD!"

"I will gladly give it to you!" She shot back.

"Oh, now you're an incestial slut. Such a proud way of caring on our family name!"

"Go ta hell!"

"I'll spit on you from the Pearly Gates and laugh as you burn!" I yelled.

"Well, your such a weird freak!" Killjoy nearly screamed.

"*gasp*!" I gasped. "Well…you're one too! You're eyes are purple! Who has purple eyes!"

"Ya know you've always been a pain in the ass Raspberry! I wish you had never come to _'Child's Play_ ' in the first place!" Killjoy yelled.

"I wish that too! At least then I wouldn't have a purple eyed freak for a twin sister!"

Killjoy growled, from her perch in the sky she came down on me but before I felt an impact a white and blue blur came over and knocked my sister down.

When it was still, I saw Shining Armor standing over Killjoy and keeping her from attacking me. KJ looked feral.

"Thanks sir," I said.

"No problem Miss."

"Now I can do this." I lifted up a hoof and prepared to punch my sister when a force held me back.

Turning to see what it was I saw a pleasant blue glow around my left hoof. A pink figure was in the corner of my eye.

"What are you doing? Can't you see the witch and I are settling our disputes?" I growled.

"Let me at her! Let me at her!" Killjoy growled.

"Cady, what happened?" Shining Armor asked, trying to hold down the red slut.

"I don't know! They shouldn't be like this." A female voice said.

I tried moving against the force, slowly realizing I still had movement in my hindlegs. Swiftly, I lifted it and up and tried connecting it with Darcy's face. It was wrapped in blue magic soon after.

"I just don't know how this could've happened." The female voice said.

"Maybe you did the spell wrong?" Shining Armor asked as Killjoy tried slamming her head into his face.

"You saw me perform it, I did it right!" Cadence said.

I stopped struggling, my eyes going wide. "What did you say?"

Shining looked at me. "My fillyfriend cast a spell on you and your sister. It wasn't supposed to do this."

"Was it a love spell?" I asked.

"Yes. How did you know?" Cadence asked from behind me.

Looking down at my sister, I saw her slowly stop.

"You figure it out too?"

"Uh-huh." Killjoy said.

Shining looked between KJ and myself. "What?"

"You wanna tell him? Or should I?" KJ asked.

"I'll do it. I'm better at this sort of thing."

"Talking?"

"Rational thought." I quipped.

"They're still fighting." Shining said.

"No, we're bickering. There's a difference. We just talk all the time like that." I explained. _"I hate her, and she hates me. What a wonderful animosities."_ I sang.

Shining incredulously at me and back to Killjoy.

"Umm…can you let me go now?" I asked the pink alicorn.

"Oh, yes of course." The magic on me released, and I fell to the ground.

"Hehehehehe." Killjoy laughed. "Just a little higher and you'd be a Raspberry Pancake."

"At least when I fall, I fall with style." I shot back.

Killjoy smiled, her purple eyes looking up at Shining. She quickly moved her head forward and back, hitting Shining right in the snout.

"Gah!" Shining said.

The shock have my younger sister a chance to escape from his grasp, flying right above me with a mocking smile on her face. I held back a groan. She had just hit Captain Shining Armor, future Prince of the Crys in the face,

"So, you weren't arguing earlier?" Cadence asked.

"No way. Razz may be stuck-up."

"And KJ may be a slut."

"And Razz may have the physical speed of a snail crossbred with a turtle."

"And KJ might have the mental capabilities of a hot air balloon."

"But we still love each other." Both of us said at the same time.

Shining stared some more, Cadence finally came into view. Her eyes were wide. [url= art/Cadence-Summer-Sun-Celebration-dress-320586825]She was gorgeous in her dress.[/url]

I looked up at KJ, noticing a tear in her dress. "Rarity is gonna kill you for wrecking the dress."

"With my streak it would've happened eventually." The red pegasus commented.

The two of us laughed. I lightly punched my sister's shoulder and looked over towards the other two ponies. "Sorry, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Raspberry Stardust. The brain dead pegasus over here is Killjoy, my twin sister."

My sister waved a hoof. "Hey."

Shining Armor gave us both odd looks. "Umm… my name is Captain Shining Armor."

"And I'm his filly friend, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." The pink alicorn greeted.

"Imma call you Mia. It's much easier to pronounce." Killjoy said.

Cadence looked surprised for a moment, then smiled gracefully. "Whatever you think, Killjoy."

"Please, call me KJ. Calling me Killjoy gives my old sister ammunition." Killjoy said.

"It's old _er_ sister Killjoy." I corrected.

"Not in your case." The thirty-four year old laughed.

"Didn't I hear Raspberry say she was your twin sister?" Shining Armor asked.

Before KJ could speak, I gripped her muzzle in my amber magic. "Yes. She just likes laughing at me. KJ, we need to get back inside for The Cake." Her purple eyes widened. I glanced back to the couple. "We should really do this again sometimes. Maybe in two or so weeks. Bye!"

"Good-bye Raspberry, goodbye Killjoy." Shining Armor said.

"Good night Raspberry. Good night Killjoy." Cadence said.

Killjoy mumbled something. Probably something about how it was gonna be a good night. With the goodbyes said I walked back inside the Castle to watch for when the fun would start.

==DMLB==

"You set up the cameras, right?" I asked.

Killjoy nodded, looking over at the stage where Pinkie was. "In every spot you told me to."

I folded my hooves together. "Excellent."

"STAGE DIVE!" Pinkie shouted.

Rarity and Prince Blueblood screamed.

I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from laughing as I saw Rarity get covered in cake. My horn lit up, activating the camera Killjoy had placed at the perfect spot to get a shot of Rarity covered in the cake Applejack had brought in.

"This is, like, better than Christmas." Killjoy laughed from beside me.

Rarity snapped towards Blueblood, her body covered in cake. Her face turned pink with rage for a split second. "You, sir, are the most un-charming prince I have ever met! In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain!"

Prince Blueblood shook, hiding in a corner like his life depended on it. "Ewww...! Uh, stay back! I just had myself groomed!" He pleaded.

Rarity mock pouted. "Afraid to get _dirty_?!"

I took another photo just as Rarity shook the cake off of her and onto Prince Blueblood. The unicorn prince whimpered. He crashed into the golden alicorn statue, making it teeter and totter.

It was starting to fall towards the ground, but a rainbow colored breeze shot past us to catch. I took a picture just before it started getting to be too much weight for Rainbow Dash to handle.

"Why do palaces always have those same stupid columns?" Killjoy commented as I took another picture. "It's a stupid idea. Those things are only gonna crash into each other and collapse."

"Comedic effect." I commented, making sure to get a picture of Twilight's face when she walked into the destruction. "And...here it comes."

"Well... it can't get any worse." Twilight said. I was only able to hear because everypony was stunned into silence.

"She said the words." Killjoy facehoofed.

The ground started to rumble. I focused my magic on the camera that would get the picture of crazy Fluttershy. A door opened wide, letting a bunch of garden animals run into the dance hall. A yellow pegasus with a matted mane, ruffled dress and crazed turquoise eyes trotted in.

Fluttershy spoke in a voice that made me crack a smile. "You're... going to LOVE ME!" She screamed.

The animals began to stampede, much to the dismay of the nobles.

I took some more pictures. Killjoy just laughed at the faces of everypony, including Twilight Sparkle. The last photo I took was of Celestia smiling down at Twilight in a way I knew only a mentor could.

I held up a glass, watching the Mane 6 retreat. "Best night ever."

Killjoy lifted her glass to mine, making a glass clink. "Oh, hell yeah."

"Wanna go get some donuts?" I asked.

"I could eat." Killjoy said. "The food here can't even feed an ant colony."

"I told you to go to Applejack's stand if you wanted food." I said.

Killjoy groaned. "No way! That stuff is healthy! I want some barbeque chips."

I laughed. "How about some donuts?"

"Deal!" The red pegasus agreed.

==DMLB==

 _?_

The air was cold, nipping at my coat. I hate the cold. Why does anybody think the cold is great? Fucking sucks. I rubbed my hooves together, trying to keep warm. This fur is thick, but not that thick.

Off in the distance, I could see her. She was standing full in her glory. A black dress clung to her body, showing off her lovely curves. Her two toned mane was in it's usual state, yet seemed to shine under the moonlight.

Those eyes. Those eyes that were like two drops of sunshine. I missed those eyes.

Beside her was that witch. The one stained with blood. The one who tries to wear Morgan's face. Morgan has a far prettier face than that she-devil does.

Oh, Morgan, do not worry my darling. I shall get to you again. I swear, I will not let you slip through my fingers.


	24. Darcy's Death

The Kent Military School. Or, for some students, Hell.

The education? Top notch.

The training? Exemplary.

The people who come? Bottom of the food chain.

The people who leave? Dicks.

The workers? Really big dicks.

The security? A big joke.

It took a simple ten minutes to bust past the front gate. Darcy and I ran past multiple guard points, staying out of sight. It helps to have had ninja training multiple times.

The matter of blending in was, pun not intended, child's play. It took a long sleeved, thick, black shirt to stay hidden in the shadows.

Multifunctional cargo pants

to carry everything I needed on hand. My infinity bag to hold the things that were too heavy for me.

What's an infinity bag? It was a gift from a witch princess. She owes me a favor about a century ago, and I cashed it in. This bag has saved my hide a couple times. It used to be a messenger bag, but now it could hold just about anything that would fit through the top latch.

Getting off topic. We wore black ballet slippers, to limit sound. Black leather gloves to keep away fingerprints from unwanted places. Our faces were covered by cliched ski masks, with the eyes and mouth cut open so we could see and breathe.

Darcy and I were standing below our opening window. I had worked for three days to organize our files for this transaction. It was easier than one would think to set up one's criminal record to make them look like two badass girls and not two girls suspected of murder. It's not my fault that Darcy can't hide a body.

For the last time, I gave her a questioning look. Darcy nodded. She was ready.

I reached into my bag, pulling out the device that would give Darcy and I all the access we needed. We climbed up to the window, seeing the hunched over form of the Colonel. He was doing paperwork.

Darcy climbed to the middle window. I held up three fingers.

Two.

One.

She shoved the window open.

"What the-" The Colonel gasped.

My partner in crime and I leapt into the room, landing carefully behind the Colonel. He shot up from his desk, reaching for his rifle. Darcy grabbed his arm, quickly taking his rifle from him and pointing it at his face.

I turned the device onc pointing at him.

"Who are you? What are-" The Colonel was silenced, staring into the device.

I nodded to Darcy, then turned to the Colonel. "Colonel, you are being hypnotized. Whenever I speak the codeword, you will obey my every order and command."

Darcy snickered. A look from me shut her up.

"Colonel, you will follow my orders to the letter. Do not act out of the ordinary if you are following out an order from me. The codeword to activate this state is: rutabaga. The word to end this state is-"

"Mistress!" Darcy shouted.

I glared at my little sister, pissed off. The black haired girl just kept laughing.

I rolled my eyes, looking back to the Colonel. "Colonel, repeat what you are to do."

The Colonel did so, his voice monotone. "I am to complete every order after you speak the word: rutabaga. I am to stop once I hear: Mistress."

I sighed. At least he did that right. "Good. Now, when I turn this thing off, you are not going to remember us breaking in. We are two newcomers to the school. Darcy Anderson is a Private, in De Silva's room. I am a Lieutenant. Our records were removed by a technical error, so you have to write them out yourself." I instructed. "Colonel, repeat your instruction."

"You are two newcomers. Private Anderson, and Lieutenant Anderson." Colonel said.

"Why do you get to be the lieutenant?" Darcy groaned.

"Because I can actually be good at it." I snapped at her, still mad for making the break-away word Mistress. "So shut up."

Darcy did as ordered, still giving me a boastful look.

I turned back to the Colonel. She was being more of a bitch lately. "Colonel, in sixty seconds, you will awake."

The hypno-beam was thrown back into my infinity bag. Darcy tossed our printed out information onto his desk. Darcy and I rushed into our seats, waiting for the Colonel to get himself situated.

"Why couldn't you do this before?" Darcy laughed, meaning using the hypno-beam.

"I had to get the blueprints. It's not easy doing this shit, ya know." I explained, glaring at her. I slammed our files onto the colonel's desk. Darcy just rolled her eyes, the mirth that was there seconds before gone.

We had gotten into three arguments on the way here. It was most likely the remnants of Mia's spell clinging to us. I was a little better at controlling my anger because my magic was fighting against it. Darcy had been a witch about a dozen times, so the magic should be suppressed somewhere inside of her expelling Mia's outside magic.

Why was her love spell still reacting so harshly? Darcy had to have been fighting against it, unless it was undermining all the other natural magic in her body. Her natural magic (being a violent serial killer with a limbo like nobody business) was colliding against Mia's magic (bringing out the love within a person) which caused problems.

Darcy showed love by being hateful, by yelling out insults, and causing arguments. She liked being an annoying bitch. Could it be that the spell was lasting this long because she wanted it to, and just didn't want to fight it?

"Andersons." The Colonel spoke.

I broke off that train of thought. I'll come back to it later.

"I see for the past eight years...you've both been in one foster home after another." The Colonel spoke. "Mind if I ask why?"

"Our parents died. We didn't really have any other option, sir." I said. I couldn't say that our foster families kept getting into accidents, or that our neighbors got into accidents.

"I know that." He said. "How come you never got settled anywhere?"

"The families never really... understood, Morgue and me."

"Morgue and I." I corrected.

Darcy scoffed. I glared at her.

"We kinda had different beliefs too." Darcy added.

"I can read, Anderson. I want to know why."

I took the next speaking role. "Little Anderson over here believes we are being chased by a crazy killer doll, sir."

"I know we are." Darcy said, following our script.

"Oh? Because you saw one blow up a house when you were six?" I scoffed.

"And when we were eight."

"That was Barclay being stupid." I snapped.

Darcy scoffed. She didn't like this part in the script where I mocked her crush.

"Alright, listen up, Andersons." His voice boomed into the office. "I'm willing to cut you two some slack, because you've had it rough. But you're troublemakers. And I got a problem with troublemakers. They don't fit into the system. So here's my advice. Grow up! You're not little girls anymore. It's time to forget these fantasies of killer dolls."

Darcy and I locked eyes. That was almost word for word of what he told Andy.

He rose up from his chair, grabbing his bible from a nearby stand. "When I was a child, I thought as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things."

"First Corinthians 13:11." I said.

The Colonel smirked. I had done a good job at impressing him. He turned to my sister. "Look alive."

The two of us stood up, standing at almost attention.

"At Kent, we take bedwetters and turn 'em into men." The Colonel instructed. "Report to the office. They will give you your rooms, and uniforms. We expect nothing less than perfection here."

Darcy and I nodded, marching out of his office. The infinity bag in my hands.

"Told you it would work." I boasted.

"Shut your fat ass, Spencer." She snapped, marching at a faster pace.

That stopped me in my tracks. Something was wrong with my sister...and I need to figure out what.

==DMLB==

The uniforms weren't as bad as originally thought. Yes, they were uniforms, but they weren't annoying like my old school uniforms.

I received a special hat. It was just like Darcy's, but it had pretty stripes.

Darcy groaned, adjusting her shirt again. "This sucks. Why do I have to wear this crap?"

"Because stop complaining, that's why." I snapped. Her bitchy attitude was effecting my own.

My little sister stayed silent for all of thirty seconds. "Why did we even have to break i to this place?"

"Because, while you may have been a delinquent, you would probably have ended up in juvie than military school. I, however, stayed on a better path. Our records are now saying that we were both sent here to put us on track." I explained.

"So, what you just said, is that I was too good for military school?"

"Yes. You were too nice for military." I said, with sarcasm.

Darcy smirked. "Nice."

I sighed. "Okay. What are the rules for this jump?"

Darcy groaned. "Rule One: Don't kill on campus. Rule Two: No killing single parents. Rule Three: I can collect blood, but I have to find a hiding place off campus. Rule Four...I forgot."

"No you didn't." I caught her lie. "Rule Four: Don't get involved with Andy unless I give you the go ahead."

The killer rolled her eyes. "You suck."

"Yep. I do." I grinned.

"Not a compliment." She growled.

"It was to me~!" I cheered. "I'm vanilla, remember?"

Darcy shook her head, marching again at a faster pace.

I stared slack jawed. Darcy wasn't even taking part in our banter. What the hell was going on?

Due to her rushed pace, I had to run to catch up with her. I have to pull out a lot of stops to get her back to normal.

"Hey. Wanna a long joke?" I asked. Darcy didn't look at me. "JOOOOOOOKE."

Nothing.

Whelp. I can't think of a joke. I can think of a plan in two seconds, but I can't do the same when I come up with a joke.

"You wanna go see a movie?" I offered.

Nothing.

"It can be your choice." I offered.

Nada.

"I'll go see that-"

"Morgan, fuck off." Darcy snapped.

"Are you PMSing or something?" I asked, having enough as her attitude. "Because you are getting on my nerves."

"A breeze would get on your nerves if it ruined The Plan." Darcy said. "You are such a spoiled brat sometimes. Seriously? You can't even have a Thanksgiving with your family without complaining? When I called you, you sounded like I had saved your life!"

I blinked.

"You fucking spoiled brat. I have to get to my room." Darcy started marching away.

I turned towards her, reaching out.

"Don't worry." She said, turning back. "I won't fuck up your Plan."

My sister marched away. I wanted so badly fix whatever what was wrong with her.

==DMLB==

Two weeks had passed since we broke in. I was no closer to figuring out what was wrong with Darcy.

She did good in the classes. She had never missed a shot during firearm training. She kept her room clean as ordered. Darcy actually did what people told her to do during March-ups.

It was like she was her opposite.

Wait. No. I spell checked her. No opposites. Damn it.

Alright. Well, Darcy was acting weird. The only person she refused to listen to? Me.

I know what you're thinking. Morgan, she's your sister, not a soldier. My response? I know, but Darcy never listens unless ordered. Requests are denied.

Who else hates me? Oh! Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Shelton. He's a straight up dick.

"Lieutenant Anderson." A voice spoke.

I turned towards it, seeing the Colonel. My body immediately formed into attention. I gave him a straight forward look.

"Yes Colonel Cochran?" I asked.

He nodded. "I will be speaking to the new private today. You will be covering the batch of cadets in the courtyard. Understood?"

I nodded, saluting. "Yes sir, Colonel sir!"

Cochran smirked. "We need for cadets like you. Well behaved. Able to follow orders." A pause. "And don't talk back."

' _Oh. That's because I've finally stopped thinking out loud. At least, I think I have.'_

"At ease, Lieutenant." Colonel Cochran ordered.

My hand fell to my side, but I stayed at attention.

"Back to your post." I marched off towards my new post.

The movie had started.

==DMLB==

The papers proved it. The owner of the toy company was dead. Chucky's work, no doubt. Barclay came into the school today. I saw him go towards the barber's office.

I would've spoken with him, but I had a theory as to why Darcy was fucked up.

In Equestria, their natural magic is happy, love, peace, and harmony. Sunshine and rainbows.

Darcy, it was the opposite. She was dark. Her magic most of the time was dark magic. She's been killing people since she was six, and collecting their blood since she was nine. Her whole reason for existence was to take my darkness.

Equestria has been suppressing all of that. Now that we weren't in Equestria, it was all coming out. Her darker emotions were targeting me, simply because I was a positive. She only responds to the negative.

She needed to get all of the negativity out in a burst. She has to kill somebody.

It felt horrible to be asking her to end someone's life. No ands, ifs, or buts. I felt like shit.

Marching in the direction of Darcy's room, I kept telling myself not to focus on it. As long as Darcy followed the Rules, it would all be okay.

Then, something tripped me.

I fell to the floor, using my arms to break my fall.

"Lieutenant Anderson!" A young voice asked.

Looking back, I saw Private Tyler at the top of the staircase. He was giving me a wide eyed look. Pushing myself off the ground, I fixed my uniform from any damage from falling.

Then I saw what I tripped on.

A package, wrapped in brown paper. A corner was torn, revealing a yellow box.

Private Tyler picked it up from my feet.

I grabbed the box from Tyler, ripping off enough paper so I was staring straight into Chucky's stupid plastic ass face.

"A good guy doll!" Tyler cheered.

"Tyler." My voice boomed.

"Yes ma'am?" Tyler sighed.

I kept staring into Chucky's eyes. "Take this box somewhere and burn it."

The doll's features changed for the first time. Chucky was glaring hatefully at me. I smirked victoriously.

"No _dolls_ are allowed at Kent." With no care for the thing inside, I tossed it at Tyler. "That's an order, Private. I expect to smell burnt plastic pretty soon. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Tyler said, walking up the stairs with the Good Guy doll.

"Tyler." I called out.

The small boy turned to me, a sad look on his face. "Yes ma'am?"

I sighed, hoping this would work. I hated this movie. "No matter what that doll says or does, you don't listen to it. Do you understand?" He nodded. "I said, do you understand?"

He realized the mistake. "I understand, ma'am."

"Good. March on."

Tyler ran off, hopefully to burn that doll.

With my luck, he may just give it to Darcy.

==DMLB==

 _Ten Minutes Later_

*BOOM*

*crackle*

"Morgue." Darcy commented.

"Yep." I nodded, popping the p.

"You told Tyler to kill Chucky, right?"

"Yep."

"So..."

"We're screwed." Darcy sighed.

"Yep."

"Can you stop saying yep?"

"Yep." I mocked, walking away.

"Fuck you." She snapped.

I raised a brow. "You used to love those."

"Well, maybe you should shut up." She said.

"With what just happened, I almost forgot why I came to talk to you." I said.

"You say it like I care." Darcy spat.

My eyes rolled. I pinched Thomas- _the vein in my forehead_. "I'm letting you kill tonight." I said.

Darcy blinked. "What?"

"Tonight. You can go off campus to murder somebody. I won't judge." I said, lifting my hands in a surrendering gesture. "You pick who you kill. I won't control a damn thing about it."

Darcy blinked again. "What?"

"An order. Go kill someone tonight." I said.

Darcy started to smile. "Are you kidding me? This isn't some fucking kind of test?"

"Go have fun the Darcy Way. I'll only complain if you kill me." I said.

The forty year old cheered. She hugged me tightly, practically squeezing me. This is exactly what I wanted fixed by this. Darcy doesn't give hugs unless she wants better access to your back.

"Alright. This hug is lasting five second longer than I want. Let go of me."

==DMLB==

 _Andy Barclay_

I had been here one day. Just one day. In a weird way, I kinda always knew I would end up at military school. It was actually safer, in case he found me. What place is safer than a school where they have guns?

Actually, no. It wasn't good. I want to be with Mom, before everything went crazy. Before they said Mom was crazy. Before him. Back when I didn't spend every minute, every second, waiting for him for to come back.

I was cut out of my thoughts by someone bumping into me.

I turned to see if the person was okay, seeing a face I hadn't seen in years.

"Darcy?" I asked.

The girl turned towards me, and I was able to get a better look at her.

She had changed a lot since we were kids. Her hair was way prettier. She was thinner, but not like she was starving. She was wearing the outfit we all were.

Darcy Anderson was in military school.

She smiled at me. "Andy!" She cheered, walking up towards me.

Whitehurst tapped my shoulder. "You know Anderson?"

"We grew up next to each other." I said.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in a decade!" Darcy laughed. We shared a quick hug.

"It does feel like a while." I wonder if Chucky is following her too. Did he get to Morgan, which is why she isn't here too? "Where's Morgan?"

Darcy looked annoyed, rolling her eyes. "Oh. Her. She kinda...drew the short stick."

I gave her a questioning look. "Was it-"

"Unfortunately, no." Darcy immediately said. "Morgue just took a different...career choice."

"Career choice?"

"What Private Anderson is trying to say, is that her sister became part of 'The Man'." A voice identical to Darcy's spoke.

Whitehurst and I turned back, seeing a confusing sight.

Morgan Anderson. She wasn't dressed like a Private. It was more like a...like a Lieutenant. She stood at attention, looking straight past us at Darcy. "I thought you went to _bed_." Morgan said.

Darcy scoffed. "I tried, but-"

"No. Private, I gave you an order. Get your _problem_ fixed before lights out." Morgan's voice boomed.

Darcy rolled her unnatural eyes, storming off in another direction.

Morgan sighed. "Sorry about my sister. She's a loose cannon."

"What problem does she have?" Whitehurst asked.

Morgan answered in a way I felt was too quickly. "She has bad urges. Ones that need to be dealt with." She turned to me. "Good to see you again Barclay."

"Good to see you too, Anderson."

Morgan smirked. She took a quick glance at Whitehurst. "Whitehurst."

"Lieutenant Anderson."

She raised a brow. "I need to tell Private Barclay something. It's a private message."

Whitehurst nodded, marching off.

Morgan let out a sigh. "Andy. Good to see you." She nodded.

"It's great to see you too, Mo-uh-Lieutenant Anderson." I corrected.

She laughed. "Andy, come on, I've known you since I was six."

I laughed too. It felt weird calling her Anderson. "How did you two end up here?"

Morgan nodded, a sad nod. "Darcy kept getting arrested, and I refused to leave her behind. So, followed her in." She gestured to her outfit. "This just took a lot of sucking up."

"Well, you are good at sucking up to people." I joked.

Morgan laughed. "Yeah, one of my special skills. Right after genious and humbleness."

"Humble?" I laughed.

"Laugh it up, Andy, laugh it up." Morgan scoffed. She looked down at her watch. "Gotta get going. The Colonel wants me to be talking down some Privates."

"Another one of your skills?" I said.

Morgan nodded. "Telling people what to do. I was born for this job."

With that, she walked away.

A startling thought came to me.

Every time the three of us got together, Chucky wasn't that far behind.

==DMLB==

It was twenty minutes before I was proved right.

I saw a Colonel, walking across the parkway. Dangling from his arms, wa a good guy doll. I could tell it was Chucky. It has to be Chucky. He found us again. He was after me again.

An hour had barely passed when I got the news.

The garbage truck driver was dead.

I watched in shock. The whole front of the car and garbage was covered in blood.

Then, I heard something that made me panic.

"Can you believe it? Two people dead."

I looked up, seeing one of the privates I stood next to after gun training. "I thought only one person died." I commented.

"No." The private said. "Another private was killed across campus. Tore up, like string cheese I heard."

But...that means there are two murderers here.

==DMLB==

After supper, I tried to get to the Andersons to warn them. They had to know about Chucky, in case they didn't already.

It was coincidental. Darcy was in the same room DeSilva was in.

I reached a hand up to knock, when I heard an argument going on inside.

"Darcy, we had rules to keep this from happening!" Morgan barked.

"Well sorry, sis, if I don't want to play by your stupid rules anymore!"

Morgan gasped. "The rules keep us alive!"

"The rules are fucking stupid!"

I heard Morgan growl. "You weren't supposed to kill the private. I told you to go off campus so it wouldn't be traced back to us!" I held back a gasp. "All you had to do was get some guy to buy you as a prostitute, and you would be fine!"

"Morgue, they haven't caught me, and I've been killing since I killed Mom and Dad." Darcy explained.

"Because I've been covering your ass since day one!" Morgan growled.

Darcy laughed, cruelly. "Yeah right."

"You know what? I've had it up to here with you. You've been acting like a real bitch this past three weeks." Morgan said. "Why?"

Darcy scoffed. "Fuck off, Morgue. I don't need to deal with your bullshit. I killed someone like ordered."

"D-"

"I checked. The guy wasn't important. It's all good."

"Yeah. Except now Andy knows two people were killed! At the same time! On two different sides of campus!"

A moment of silence.

"Oh."

I decided to run away at that point.

Darcy was a killer too? She made herself an orphan, and Morgan too. She killed her parents when she was _my age_! She's been killing people ever since.

And Morgan knew about it! She's been lying to everyone about this. She's been lying to me about Darcy, about killings. Who knows how many people have died and it was because of Darcy.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan_

The two of us had been following Andy and Kristen DeSilva from the woods. Soon enough, we were in an amusement park.

"Freakin' carnies. Why are they always in horror movies in some stupid way?" Darcy asked.

"Because they keep trying to find the best cameos." I joked begrudgingly. "You know, why have bigger problems than a traveling circus."

Darcy scoffed, making her way through the large crowd till she was back at my side. "Like what? You gettin' nervous?"

"No. You going all freelance on me." My partner in crime rolled her royal purple eyes. "We have _rules_ for these things, Darce. Rules that have worked since you were six years old. It would be nice if you kept up with them."

"I followed your stupid rules." The teen argued.

"No, you did not." I stated. Darcy groaned loudly, stomping off towards a monster ride. "the rules were you weren't supposed to kill anyone on school grounds! That includes dragging them to school to dump the bodies! That could get us into some serious trouble when they get found!"

" _If_ they get found, you mean." Darcy corrected.

"No. I mean _when_." I stormed in front of her, blocking her path into the ride. "Your parents were found after they died. Almost every foster parent we had was found. Every person you kill, the body gets found. You have no experience in hiding bodies!"

"Oh, and you do?" Darcy shot. My sister shoved me aside, walking past me into the dark building. Groaning, I raced after her.

"Darce, come on. Even you have to know that you're gonna get caught someday." I explained.

"Pfft. You make it sound like it's a bad thing." The serial killer laughed.

"You could go to jail!" I nearly shouted.

"No way. You would bust me out." Darcy said plainly.

"Darce," I began.

"And then, we would go see a movie. I hear there's a great movie coming out in two weeks on your side. On mine it's just some Friday the 13th's. Or Nightmare on Elm Street. After surviving them, the movie lost it's glamore." Darcy explained. "That, and lucid dreaming is kinda getting boring."

"Darce I can't-" I began again.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is making up bodies to kill each night? After awhile I start losing ideas and just re-use old ones." The purple eyed teen gasped, turning towards me and walking backwards. A little car passed by the two of us quickly, housing three people screaming. "It would be _great_ if I could use some guys from your time! Is there anyone at your new school giving you trouble?"

"Darcy I can't break you-"

"Wait a second. You've never talked to me about this new school." Darcy realized. "Are you hiding something? Are they bullying you there too? Is there some secret guy-" My sister laughed. "Wait. No. You're you. You would rather run into a burning building than date a guy. Silly me for even suggesting that."

"DARCY I CAN'T BREAK YOU OUT OF JAIL AGAIN!" I screamed at my twin.

The chatty girl shut up. She blinked at me twice and had stopped still in the path. My chest was heaving as I caught up my breath. That shout took a lot out of me, running didn't help either.

"You keep getting arrested and expecting me to help you, like it's all I do for you. I can't always be your _Get Out Of Jail Free_ Card. Yes, I love you, but you can't keep expecting me to do that stuff. Do you know what I have to go thru to even  start breaking you out of jail?! The people I have to find, and then convince, that I need their help breaking a teenager out of jail? Someday you could end up in solitary, or a top security prison states away." I reasoned. "I'm not saying you need to stop what you love, not at all, I'm just saying you need to dial it down.

"Please. I've lost so much. I've lost friends, I've lost my childhood, I've lost the things that mattered most to me." I started crying. "Please don't let me lose my sister too. I just want to get this movie over with, and then we can leave. Please. No more. Please no more of this. I can't- _won't_ lose you."

Darcy was silent. The only sign I got that she was still alive was that her eyes kept blinking. I opened my mouth to speak again, reaching my hand out towards Darcy. The girl turned away and continued marching in the direction of the large animatronic volcano.

"Darcy! Darcy slow down!" I pleaded, chasing after her.

When the two of us finally arrived at the large volcano. I saw Darcy attempting to climb towards the top.

"My sister is gonna be the death of me." I said under my breath. Rolling my eyes, I climbed up after her. "Darcy! Please come down! The others are gonna be here any second!" I shouted at her.

Another cart came by, full of people screaming.

"Just go, Morgue. _Clearly_ you can do this on your own." Darcy said.

"Darce, you're being stupid. Just climb down!" I instructed.

"Why? So you can order me around? Tell me what I can and can't do? It's my life Morgan! I did _not_ kill Mom and Dad just so you could take their place!" Darcy shouted over her shoulder.

"I'm not trying to take their place, I'm just making sure you don't get us killed!" I shouted up at her.

"Pfft. Yeah right." Darcy yelled.

I groaned loudly, but still climbed up after her.

"Stop following me!" Darcy ordered.

"Not until you climb down!"

"I can't!" Darcy shouted.

"Yes you can!"

"No, I really can't climb down!"

"Why not!"

"Because I'm already at the top." Darcy said.

"Wha-" Darcy placed a hand over my mouth. I looked around and realized we were at the top of the volcano. "Biscuits."

The killer laughed. She began walking around the edge of the volcano.

Pulling myself up there, I made sure to keep balance on the very thin edge. Brushing off some dirt and paint, I took a deep breath. "Alright, now Darcy-"

Then my sister tried to punch me. I was forced into frantic action at that.

"Darcy, what are you-woah!" I was interrupted by Darcy performing a flip kick in my direction. I was narrowly missed. That was when I realized I needed to fight back.

Avoiding another fist, I kept moving back a forth. All of my hits were deflected and used against me. It was like Darcy knew my moves and how to use them against me.

Well, that was because she did. It sucks when your sparring buddy becomes your attacker.

"Darce, you don't have to do this!" I yelled as I tried to block another hit, we were getting close to the fan. If I focused enough I could hear thunder booming outside.

"You don't get it Morgue, I have to do this."

"The bloodshed has to stop! I can't keep living with the guilt you pass onto me!"

"It'll stop Morgue when the movie stops." Darcy had gripped my arm, pulled me close to her. "Or when you die."

Hating the pain of death, I did the only thing I could think of as I was almost hung over the edge, the huge fan just below us. I pushed Darcy away.

Into the fan.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

"NO!" It was too late, by the time I looked down I saw the red of Darcy and plastic remains of Chucky. Both stuck in the fan's workings.

Darcy is dead...because of me.

==DMLB==

The next few minutes were kinda a blur. It was like my body was moving for me, and I was taking a backseat. It carried me down from the volcano, taking me outside. It brought me out of the park. It kept me moving until I reached the base. I put my gun back in it's place, marching towards the school in a haze.

When I came out of the haze, I was sitting in my room. I don't really know why. My whole body felt like I was empty. I couldn't believe Darcy was dead. I kept seeing her falling in my mind. It didn't make any sense.

The door to my room opened. I could see Andy and De Silva come in. Andy was excited. De Silva was excited. They were both happy.

They didn't know. How could they?

"Morgan, we got him!" Andy tried to cheer me up.

I just kept staring blankly.

"Morgan, come on, we finally killed Chucky! There's no chance of him coming back now! He's just bits and pieces!" Andy attempted.

I didn't move. I don't even think I breathed.

"Hey, where's Private Anderson?" De Silva asked.

"Bits and pieces." I droned.

There was silence.

"W-What?" Andy stuttered.

"We followed you." I droned, not moving an inch. "We tried to help, but Darcy led me into that stupid ride. We were having an argument. She was super pissed at me, I was super pissed at her, and then..." There was a lump in my throat. I couldn't say it. Saying it made it true. "Then she...she brought me to the top...of that stupid fucking volcano thing..." I couldn't say anymore. The lump was bigger than I could swallow.

"That was a lot of blood for one doll."

My breath hiccuped. I pictured Darcy falling again, her purple eyes accusing me of pushing her. Killing her.

"I didn't have a choice." I said, starting to cry. "She was gonna-gonna-gonna push me i-i-if I didn't. She was gonna kill me. My own sister was gonna kill me." Tears just started pouring.

I was all alone now.

"Morgan." Andy sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm gonna miss her too-"

"Shut up." I snapped, getting up from my bed and pointing an accusing finger at Andy. "Just shut up." I shouldn't be mad at him. It isn't his fault. It's mine. I killed Darcy, but she left me no other choice. "You don't understand how it hurts. Your mom is still alive. My mom _died_ while I was in the next room helping you with Chucky. My dad died with her. Darcy and I bounced from home to home, but we stuck together. I protected her because she was all I had. The only person who understood what it meant to be me, and now she's torn into little tiny bits because she tried to kill me."

Another wave of tears poured out. I kept glaring at Andy. "You can _'miss her'_. I get to _mourn her_." I wiped away the tears. "If Darcy knew I was crying, she would be slapping me."

"She would." Andy nodded. "I remember her doing that last time. _Andersons are cold, emotionless robots_."

"The Family Motto." I said, wiping my cheeks of tears. "I have to go. The only real reason I was here is because of her."

A pause. "I hope we see you again." De Silva said.

I looked over at her, nodding. "I hope it's for better reasons than a killer doll."

De Silva smirked. The two of us had a quick hug. I moved over to Andy. I held my hand out for a shake.

"I'll see you next time, Andy."

He took my hand, shaking it. He pulled me in for a hug, patting my back. "Until next time."

I tried keeping my emotions together, walking to the door of my room. "I should be gone in an hour. It'll be like I was never here."

"Anderson."

I turned around, seeing De Silva holding something in her hand.

"I think she dropped this." She tossed it at me.

I caught it, feeling the cold metal in my hand. Another lump appeared in my throat.

"She would want you to have it." De Silva said.

Bringing my hand down, I saw her necklace sitting in the palm of my hand. Biting my lip, I put the necklace on over my own.

"No she wouldn't." I admitted. "But I don't really care about what that witch wants."

And that's what Darcy wanted. For me to stop caring about what others thought about me. For me to stop caring about that and start caring about what I wanted.


	25. The Princess and the Frog

I can't bring her back.

I had been trying to for almost a month. At Home, Christmas was in two weeks. In Equestria, I hadn't been back. I couldn't think of a way to bring my sister back from the dead.

A part of me gave up. I was the gloomiest I had ever been at Christmas time. Usually, I was singing every song, playing every special, and wearing the cheeriest clothes around. I buy my family's presents, and leave them anonymously like Santa Claus. I even paint my nails!

This year? Nothing. No presents, no clothes, no singing.

I read all sorts of new books, thinking to find a way to bring her back. Each one was only met with disappointment. She would've found a way by now. She would say something, which would give me an idea, and then I would save her life.

Storyline, I can't even think her name without bursting into tears. This is the first time anyone close to me has died. Sure, my great grandpa died when I was ten, but I wasn't that close with him. I remember Mom crying, though. It was weird, going a funeral for a relative I barely knew.

I had a fish. It died when I was out of town, but left her with a friend. Some of the people I knew in my Jumps died, but I didn't really care.

She brought out the best in me. She made me want to be good. It was like, she was what held me together. I felt broken inside.

I had been having nightmares too. That door, that orange door. It was locked, but now the key was dead. I could feel her creeping around in my head, lying in wait like a tiger on the prowl.

Then, there was a light. _The Princess and the Frog_.

It was completely stupid. I shouldn't have done it. A momentary lapse of judgment. What made me think it was smart?

I made a deal with Dr. Facilier.

...

...

...

There. Are you done laughing?

I know. The whole movie is showing how wrong it is to make deals with the shadow man. I did it anyway.

He said he could bring her back. He said **to my face** that he could bring her back. I signed the deal.

Next thing I knew, I was a frog.

Dr. Facilier then pointed out the fatal mistake in the deal. He _could_ bring her back, but he won't. That fucking little bastard played me!

I sulked in the swamp, figuring I might as well play along.

A week later, I met Tiana, Naveen, and Louis. They were lost in the swamp. They were happy to meet me, it seemed.

Naveen grinned at me, almost in a flirtatious manner. "Hello. I am Prince Naveen, of Maldonia." He greeted.

I rolled my eyes, face palming.

"And, who are you?"

"Alyssa." I said, remembering the name from this life. It was a good name, I felt, for a quick deal. "Alyssa Quinn."

Naveen smirked. Tiana rolled her eyes. "What is a young thing like yourself doing in the swamp?"

"Sulking, mostly." I shrugged, tracing my flipper through the water.

"Oh? Now why are you sulkin'?" Louis asked. "Ya seem pretty lively."

I felt nervous. "I made a deal with the Shadow Man. He turned me into a frog."

"You too?" Tiana asked.

I raised a brow, trying not to make me seem like a know it all. "What?"

"I'm stuck as a frog too." Tiana said, pointing a thumb at Naveen. "The Prince over here made a deal with the Shadow Man, and then he got me turned into one."

Naveen rolled his eyes. "Oh. Do not be such a grump. That is not how it happened."

I gave him a flat look. I turned to Tiana. "Sorry. I'm rude. What's your name?"

"Tiana." The female frog said. "And the giant alligator is Louis."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you Louis." I blinked. "Wait. Naveen is a prince. What could he possibly want from the Shadow Man?"

Naveen chuckles nervously. "Uh. That is not important." He gave me another smirk. "Why did you?"

I bit my lip. Or, at least I think I did. Do frogs have teeth?

"Oh come on now." Louis began. "I'm sure whatever you did ain't that bad."

"I lost my little sister." I said, before I could stop myself. "The Shadow Man said he could bring her back."

Louis gave a shocked gasp. "What? You made a deal with him over a misplaced sister? Did you search all of New Orleans before making that crazy deal?"

"Louis." Tiana said. I guess she understood my wording. Or, she noticed the tears growing in my eyes.

"Is that why you went to the bayou? To find ya sister? I don't think I've seen any people around here."

"Louis." Tiana tried again.

"But really. Making a deal just because you lost your sister! How long she been gone? A few days?"

"Almost a month." I squeaked.

"Ah. Louis." Naveen was now trying to shut the alligator up.

"A month?! Girl, you need to try them police officers before you go to the shadow man!" Louis shook his head. "Mmm, hmmm, hmm. You humans. You are making some crazy deals these days. They don't make no sense!"

"Louis! Naveen shouted, finally catching Louis' attention.

The musical alligator leaned down. "Oh. Yes?"

"Not that kind of lost." Naveen explained.

"What? But what other-"

*sniffle*

"Oh."

I wiped my eyes. No tears. No crying. I am Morgan Spencer, and Morgan Spencer does not cry!

"He said he could bring her back, and then turned me into a frog. He said he could, but he wouldn't! He tricked me!" I snapped. Then I sulked. "Now, I'm just sulking around the swamp. Can't really think of a better thing to do."

A moment of awkward silence.

"What are you three doing?" I asked, as kind as I had to.

"Oh. They're going to Mama Odie's." Louis explained.

My eyes widened. "The crazy witch? I've heard some whispers about her. She actually sounds kinda nice."

There was a pause.

"Do you wanna come?" Tiana asked.

I leapt up onto Louis. "Absolutely."

==DMLB==

I sighed.

"Louis." I said, looking up at the gator. "I'm gonna need you to be really brave."

Louis frowned, wringing his hands together. "W-Why?"

"I'm gonna have to yank it out." I said. Louis's eyes widened. "Louis, hey, buddy, be brave. Everything is going to be fine. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." I hopped over, hovering my webbed hand over the small thorn. "How about you think about playing your trumpet? Better yet, why not actually play it?"

Louis grinned, pulling it out. He blew on it. Some good jazz came out.

I yanked out the thorn. Louis barely noticed. I hopped around him, yanking out all of the others.

He stopped, a second after I pulled them out. "Hey, when're ya gonna pull it out?"

"I already did. I pulled all of 'um out." I said, showing him the large bundle of thorns he had in his scales. "Ya see? Told ya being brave would help."

Louis smiled. "Thank ya Alyssa."

"It was no trouble." I said. "I got a little one, and she gets things on her that I can't even begin to think of how." I blinked. "Seriously. The amount of tree sap I find on that child-"

"You have a little tadpole?" Louis asked, sounding surprised.

I blushed. Had I mentioned Lilac again? As my daughter? Why did I keep going that? "She's...it's complicated."

"Ya either got a kid, or ya don't." Ray shrugged, flying closer to my face.

I took a step back. "She's not really mine. Her mom died, and I've been watching her since." Not technically a lie. Her mother did die, in a way.

"Do ya take care a her?" Louis asked.

"Yes." I answered with a nod.

"Do ya feed her?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"Do ya make sure she's safe?"

"I wouldn't let her out of the house if she wasn't safe." I argued.

"Do ya love her?" Ray finally asked.

"Of course I do! She's my daughter! Why wouldn't I love my-" I stopped myself, eyes going wide.

Ray and Louis smirked.

"I...I mean...she's not..."

*crash*

Saved by the bell.

==DMLB==

I laid back, watching the scene play out.

"Look how she lights up the sky." Ray sang. "Ma Belle Evangeline."

Louis gawked. "Ha ha' That ain't a-" He was silenced by Naveen throwing a pebble at his head.

"Shh!" Naveen said.

Tiana looked to him, confused. Naveen shrugged.

I merrily listened to the song, suddenly interested in the words.

" _So far above me yet I know her heart belongs to only me."_ Ray sang, burning a heart with an arrow onto a tree. _"Je t'adore-"_

"I adore you." Naveen translated.

" _Je t'aime."_

"I love you." Naveen translated, much to Tiana's shock. "I am just translating!" He excused.

I giggled, watching Ray sing the song.

" _Evangeline, you're my queen of the night. So still, so bright."_

Naveen stood up, bringing Tiana with him.

I stood too, hopping on top of Louis.

"Oh, no no no. I don't dance." Tiana said, walking away from Naveen.

" _That someone as beautiful as she, could love someone like me._

He grabbed her arm, pulling her back. The frog prince gave her a loving smile.

She hopped away.

" _Love always finds a way it's true!."_

"I've never danced." Tiana said.

I smiled, remembering the Whovian definition of dancing.

Naveen rolled his eyes, grabbing the string on her lilypad.

" _And I love you, Evangeline."_

"If I can mince, you can dance." Naveen explained.

I smiled. This part was super romantic.

Louis brought out his trumpet (from Storyline knows where) to play. Ray and him shared a knowing glance.

I hummed a few vocals, more as back-up than anything else.

Ray flew over to the flowers around the two frogs. He lit up all the flowers, making them shine. Finally, he flew into the air with a pink and green leaf.

The frogs dive into the water, swimmingly gracefully underneath while the rest of us played our part.

" _Love is beautiful, love is wonderful! "_ Tiana and Naveen leapt out of the air. " _Love is everything, do you agree? Mais oui!"_

They ended up back on a lily pad. Looking deep into each other's eyes.

Ray flew up next to me. We both smiled, looking up at Evangeline.

" _Look how she lights up the sky._ " We both sang. _"I love you, Evangeline."_

They almost kissed.

Tiana backed away. "You...You make for a good dance partner."

"Oh." Naveen said, crestfallen. "Yes."

==DMLB==

If this has taught me anything, it's that I am older than Mama Odie by twenty-four years.

 _She_ would be laughing at me.

The song was over. Our mission was handed out by the magic gumbo.

Get to the Princess of the Mardi Gras Parade.

"Actually, I got a better idea!" Louis cheered.

The others went on ahead.

"Now hold on there, Missy," Mama Odie spoke.

I turned back to the blind woman. She gestured for me to come back.

"Ah ain't finished wit ya yet."

"Alyssa..." Tiana said from behind me.

"I'll catch up with you guys later. I promise." I said, not taking me eyes off Mama Odie.

Hopping over towards the large pot where Mama Odie stood, I looked inside and back towards the Voodoo Lady.

"Now, tell Mama Odie what's gotcha down." She instructed.

Twiddling my frog thumbs, I began. "It's my twin sister. She died almost a month ago. It was all my fault, now I'm all alone." I explained. "I want her back."

Mama Odie nodded and 'hmmm'd', then she laughed.

"Oh, child, ya think ya all alone but ya ain't. Take a look at the gumbo." Mama Odie stretched a leathery hand out over the tub.

The red slowly swirled. Forming images. Slowly, I saw people. Mom. Dad. Derek. Terence. Scott. My family. My cousins. My aunts, uncles and grandparents.

"My family won't understand." I told Mama Odie.

She gave a big hearted laugh. "Keep on lookin'!"

Giving her a wary look, I glanced down at bathtub.

The figures changed. It turned into Caroline and her sister Anna. All those other people at school. Mia and Shiny. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Luna. The Doctor (the ninth and tenth), Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, River Song, the members of the BAU, Jen, Jacque Lupei, Sally. So many more, I could barely catch them all.

"Them people are yer family. They never let ya go when ya needed it." Mama Odie said as she tapped the gumbo with her staff. "But ders one girl who needs ya more den ya know."

The images rippled. Soon all forming together and showing one thing.

Lilac.

My dragon. There she was. In all her cuteness. She was talking with Twilight, a banana but muffin with rubies on top in her claws. She was smiling up with her shining white teeth and glimmering blue eyes.

" _Do you feel okay? Living with Raspberry I mean?"_

Imma kill that unicorn.

 _Lilac laughed. "Totally! She raised me from an egg, treated me really nice, gave me food and a place to sleep. She was there when I woke up from a nightmare. She was there to sing me a lullaby. She never left me behind._

" _She's my mommy and I wouldn't have it any other way."_

The image faded away, and I knew something I didn't before.

I had a daughter. She needed me, _so_ much.

"To da world ya may be one person, but ta that one person yer da world." Mama Odie explained. "Ya see now child, what Mama Odie see?"

"Yep." I said, nearly in tears.

"And whattaya gonna do bout that?"

Still staring at the tub, I thought it over. "I'm gonna go find Lilac. I'm gonna start treating her like family, like I should've been doing all along."

==DMLB==

Dr. Facilier was one scary ass mother fucker when he wanted to be.

Tiana and I were running through the graveyard. Tiana held the amulet, while I was holding up the rear.

The shadows demons were following behind us.

I was panting. Running after the Doctor was easy, running as a pony was easy, hopping as a frog was difficult.

"Tiana, go! I'll hold off the Shadow Man!" I yelled, stopping in my tracks.

Tiana turned back to me. "Alyssa, I can't-"

"Tiana." I turned to her, looking her in the eyes. "Go and get your prince."

The frog smiled, sadly. Then she hopped off.

I gulped, turning back to see the shadows gaining. I stood proud. A memory of the cow from Barnyard Animals came to mind. _"And I won't back down."_ I sang.

The shadows came up to me. They swarmed around, searching for the amulet.

Dr. Facilier was looking down at me.

"I'm not letting you get to my friends!" I shouted.

The Shadow Man grinned, like a Cheshire cat.

He raised his stick up high, bringing it's head down on my before I could hop away.

==DMLB==

All I could see was white.

It was one of those weird whites. That either went on forever, or five feet. Where you couldn't tell if it was endless.

My body was covered in white. Like a hospital gown, but more glowy.

"Did I die?" I paused. "Again?"

" _No. You are just_ mostly _dead."_

I will admit this. Tell anyone else I said this, and I will deny it. I yelped, jumping up into the air like a scared little girl.

The was about my height, her skin was pale but I wrote that off as the whole _'she's dead'_ thing. Her hair was long, and a light mocha brown, and her eyes were a lovely shade of midnight blue.

Just like Lilac's.

She wore a green shirt, kinda looked a bit hippie-esque. The bell bottom jeans weren't helping her case either.

"Mostly dead? Like in _Princess Bride_?"

" _No."_ The woman said. I shrugged. _"It's_ exactly _like in_ 'Princess Bride' _."_

I smirked. "Nice. I liked that."

The woman grinned. Then, frowned. _"Beware the man of two faces, for he shall be your doom."_ She warned.

"What?" I asked. "You mean Facilier?"

The woman shook her head. _"The Man of Two Faces. He will come for you soon. He will be your undoing."_

I raise a skeptical brow.

" _Oh, and you may want to cover your ears. This next bit gets kinda loud."_

==DMLB==

My eyes shot open wide. I fell down to the ground with a plop.

"Ugh..." I groaned. "What...what happened to me? Did I get run over by a bus or something?"

Suddenly, I was tackled by three figures. Louise, Tiana, and Naveen.

"Gah! Guys I can't breathe!" I choked.

==DMLB==

"And then, the four of us went to Charlotte. We tried getting her and Naveen to kiss, but it was worthless. Midnight had passed, and she was no longer a princess."

"Aww."

"I know. Naveen and Tiana were sad, but embraced it. They were still in love, frog or human. It took some work to get a wedding together for frogs. Louis was Naveen's best stallion. I was Tiana's maid of honor. Mama Odie officiated the wedding."

"They let her work at their wedding?"

"Yep. She was the only one with any sort of power over court. I don't get it either." I shrugged. "A whole lot of legal mumbo jumbo gumbo.

"Mama Odie pronounced them 'stallion and mare'. They were allowed to kiss...then it happened."

"What happened?"

"The spell. It was lifted off of Naveen, Tiana, and I. Why I was included, I still don't know." I explained. "Ya see, because Naveen was a prince, when he married Tiana she became a princess. It broke the curse.

"Now ponies, they went back to New Orleans. Tiana was finally able to open her shop. Naveen worked with her, helping her achieve her dream. Louis became a part of the in-house band. I was made part of the wait staff. It was fun to work in New Orleans for two weeks. At one point, we all broke out into a song called 'Down in New Orleans'." I nodded.

"Mom?"

"Yes?" I asked, looking over in her direction.

"I liked the part with Mama Odie's song." She smiled.

"Mama Odie was hilarious!" Snips laughed.

"Yeah. Hilarious." Snails agreed.

"I liked Louis." Sweetie Belle chimed.

"That shadow walker guy sounded hard cool!"

"Pwince Naveen thounded dweamy." Twist sighed, getting a blissful look on her face.

"I liked Charlotte la Bouff." Diamond Tiara smiled pridefully. "She was probably beautiful."

I rolled my eyes. Work was always fun on Fridays.

"Now, kids, remember, your field trip to Canterlot is on Tuesday. You'll need permission from your parents, or legal guardians." I said. "You need to bring the permission slips Miss Cheerilee handed out by the end of Monday. Good?"

"Yes Miss Raspberry." The children all announced.

I smiled. "Good." *ring* *ring* "Have a marvelous weekend, kids."

"Good bye Miss Raspberry!" The goals all cheered as they all ran out of the front door.

I have less than a week to re-write five months of Plans.

Fuck.


	26. Trying

_Caroline_

For the past few months, I've been going to a new school. There are only two people in my grade, myself being one... and Morgan Spencer being the other. She was the daughter of Principal Spencer and the elementary teacher, Mrs. Spencer. I was kinda friends with her younger brother, Derek Spencer, but every time I tried to talk with Morgan I was cut off.

Some would think Morgan was being rude. Some would think to stop trying. Some wouldn't even bother. I could tell that people had done that with Morgan. She had been here since the 8th grade and she was in 10th now, three years and I don't think she had a single friend.

It was the last period of the day. Chemistry class had finished thirty minutes ago and I knew every day once the last class of the day was done Morgan would go to the library and sleep.

I'm not a stalker.

Today was the day. Today I was finally going to get something from the real life shut-in. It would be easy. Just get together the last of my things, walk over to the library doors and opened them slowly. So she wouldn't wake up. Genius.

It was kinda weird. I mean, here was a girl who I had seen every day for the past six months and I haven't gotten more than two sentences from her. Calling her an introvert would be redundant. Did she even have friends at her old school? Her own brother didn't know much about her, except maybe a couple movies and TV shows she liked.

Not like I spend all day asking about her.

I'm not a stalker.

...

Shut up.

When I arrived at the library door, I looked inside the small window inside the door. It was that kind of window where they had little diamond patterns made

The library itself was a two room deal. The first room was the main room. It had a couch, two of it's wall covered in book shelves filled with books for all ages. There was a desk set up in case we ever got a librarian, a couple hardwood tables with matching chairs and a plant. The second room was half the size and had a second door that took you out into a hallway. It had two really old white computers, a large map, a window with those same diamond patterns to show you what was inside, smaller bookshelves that held encyclopedias and dictionaries, and another plant.

That's the room where Morgan always went. It was a great place to get away, now that I think about it. Nobody really used it, except for when they had a research project (which we rarely do). Walking over to the door, I made sure to stay hidden.

The rooms both had their own wiring, so turning off the lights in the main room wouldn't turn them off in the other room. The lights were usually off whenever Morgan was in there.

I could see Morgan inside. I remember from earlier today she had been wearing a black shirt with short sleeves and black sequins covering the shirt in the pattern of leopard spots. Her jeans weren't there, instead it was just black leggings. She wasn't wearing her usual pink and orange crocs, she wore black dress shoes with black socks. It was like she was dressing for a funeral.

Her hair wasn't even in a ponytail. It fell over her face, like that girl in _The Ring_.

Carefully, I gripped onto the door handle and eased it open. Morgan by all means looked asleep. I took a few cautious steps towards her, taking notice that some of the light from the main room made it into this one. It showed me the shine on Morgan's cheeks.

She had been crying. Hard.

"Wow." I said. I knew she could cry, but I didn't think that's what she did every day when she came here.

Morgan flinched suddenly. I backed up, thinking she was about to wake up.

"...mmph...Selene stop crying...Aurelia will be fine..." Morgan mumbled in her sleep. "...they'll be okay..."

It was a little strange, but I didn't disturb her. "Trying to save you...don't go in there..."

Her eyes popped open. She screamed and stood up off the ground. "Selene!" She shouted.

"Gah!" I said, stumbling back and falling on the ground.

Morgan took a few deep breaths, sagging back onto the ground. "Great, another-" She cut her sentence short when she saw me. "What are you doing?"

"Funny story actually..." I laughed nervously.

"Were you watching me...sleep?" Morgan asked, eyes going wide for a moment.

"No." I said instantly, adding a nervous laugh.

Morgan raised a brow at me.

"I wasn't. I was...looking for a book." I defended.

"In the- you know, I don't care." The girl stood up from the ground, gathering up what little she had. "School is over for the day. I need to go home. Good bye."

Morgan started walking towards The second door.

"Umm...actually I wanted to talk with you." I said.

"Don't care." Morgan said.

"Hey!" I snapped.

The girl sighed, turning towards me with a bored look on her face. "Yes?"

"I'm trying to be nice, but you've just been being rude to me since I met you." I said.

She nodded.

"Why?"

"Cause I don't want to hang out with you." She answered.

She was being really honest with me. It felt weird. "Why are you dressing up so...black, and dark. You're not even wearing those crocs that you wear everyday."

Morgan frowned. "I want to dress like this. Leave me alone."

I could tell something was wrong. I wouldn't just let her hurt herself like this. "You're dressing like someone died."

The girl locked up. For a second, I thought I saw hurt in her eyes. Tears came down, refreshing the tears on her already wet cheeks. "Someone _did_. Can I go now?"

I tilted my head. "What? But, your parents didn't say-"

"That's cause they don't know she's dead!" Morgan snarled.

I was confused. Morgan knew someone who died, but her family didn't? It seemed weird, because it felt like Mr. And Mrs. Spencer knew everyone Morgan knew. It must've been really hard on her. "Oh. That's...That's unfortunate."

She scoffed. That kinda scoff that turns into a sad smirk, and then a chuckle. She sucked her lips together, looking like she was trying really hard not to cry. "Wow. I'm in the presence of a wordsmith."

"Well, sorry. I don't...I'm not really good on talking to people who had someone die." I tried.

Morgan nodded, wiping at her cheeks. "Who is?"

I chuckled. I don't know why, maybe it was she was finally talking. "You said she, earlier."

She nodded again.

"What was she like? Talking about her might help." I said.

Morgan shut her eyes, another tear leaking out. "She was my best friend-no-she was my _sister_." The way she said it, it was like she was finally admitting it. "She was brave, so stinkin' brave. She loved showing off, in everything. Her work, her love life, her...everything. She loved to swear, which I thought was totally cool. She was...she was her own person, her own _type_ of person." Morgan admitted. I sat down Indian style, brushing some of my hair out of my face. My sister might be looking for me, but I was too busy with Morgan to want to go. "She got me, ya know? Whenever I was upset, she would do something."

She chuckled. "It wasn't always a good thing, but it was a thing."

I laughed. "Was that frustrating?"

"Oh like you wouldn't believe." Morgan smirked. "This one time, a couple months ago, I hadn't been getting much sleep, so she dragged to my bed to make me sleep. But a month ago, she got me so hyped up that I forgot it was Thanksgiving! Darcy had this way of making you go crazy."

"Woah woah woah. Hold up. You _forgot_ about _Thanksgiving_?" I laughed, hysterically.

Morgan blushed. "No."

It took a minute to stop laughing. By then I had noticed Morgan laughing with me.

It felt wrong. It was a bad idea. Such a stupidly bad idea, but I had to ask. It just felt like what the Lord wanted me to do.

"How did she die?"

Morgan's breath hitched. She pulled her knees to her chest, holding them close.

"Sorry." I said. "Sorry, I know. It's way too personal-"

"Yeah. Yeah it is." She sniffled. "But I still have to. I have to tell _somebody_." Morgan gulped. "It was an accident. A complete accident. It...it shouldn't have happened...not to her. She snuck us into a roller coaster. It..." Morgan started choking on her tears. "She climbed u-up one of the-their mountains. They had-had a- had a huge fan. At the bottom."

My jaw dropped. "Morgan-"

"She can't even be buried." Morgan hiccupped. "There's-There isn't-isn't enough left." She caved in on herself, clutching her knees tightly to her chest. "It hurts."

I walked over towards her, wrapping an arm over her shoulders. "Hey. Hey, it's okay."

Morgan rested her head on my shoulder. I could feel the tears hitting my shirt. "No. It'll never be okay again. My best friend is dead." She sobbed. "I'll never see her again."

Gentle, I patted her back. "It's okay. It'll all be okay."

"Not it won't." Morgan sobbed.

"Yes it will." I argued.

"No it won't." Morgan repeated.

"Will too."

"It won't. Ever."

"Will too."

Morgan sniffed. "Never."

"Things'll get better."

"...how can you be sure?" Morgan asked, tightening my hug.

"Because, Go-"

"No." Morgan snapped. It kinda hurt my ear. "No. I don't want the Sunday school answer. I don't want to hear how she is waiting for me on the other side. I don't want that. I don't need that."

She ended the hug. Her amber eyes looking into my brown. "Why does Caroline Bellingham think life will get better, when someone you love dies?"

I gulped. Morgan's amber eyes were usually bright, even when sitting in a dark corner. These eyes. These were a dark, murky color. I didn't like it.

Morgan was nice. She was a sweet girl, who didn't need to be this sad.

"Life gets better...because..." I shook my head. When I looked back, Morgan was still looking into my eyes. "Sometimes, life doesn't end up like we planned. Because it was meant to be better."

Morgan bit her lip. She looked down at her shoes, then back to look at me. Her eyes brightened, just a bit. "Not like we planned." She repeated. She started to smile. "That's...that's exactly what I needed to hear."

I grinned. "It felt good talking about it, huh?"

Morgan let out a mirthless laugh. "The rumors were true."

We both laughed. I patted her on the shoulder.

"You're a good person, Morg." I comforted.

"Morg." She said, in a correcting voice.

I blinked. "That's what I said."

"No. You said Morg." Morgan said. "My nickname is Morg."

"Uh. That's what I said." I repeated.

Morgan shook her head. "Morg. Like, mortuary. M-o-r-g- _u-e_." Morgan spelled. "Most can't hear the difference. I always could. Just those little bits, ya know?" She sniffled.

"Someone gave you a nickname based off mortuaries?" I asked, laughing.

Morgan shrugged. "She said it fit."

I blinked. "Oh." I suddenly felt super nervous. How do you add in two silent letters to a word? "Well, _Morgue_ , I want to hear the full backstory behind that name."

"Yeah, Care." Morgan said, as if a reflex.

"Care?" I nodded. I liked it.

"Cause you were the person to ever care." Morgan said. I felt so touched. "And, it's shorter." Good feelings gone. "Say we attacked, by the time I shout 'Caroline!' We'll both be dead."

I laughed. She held out her hand, I shook it.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not." I commented.

Morg- _ue_ smirked. "Most can't." She let go of my hand, picking up her belongings. She looked over shoulder at me. "To a new friendship."

I smiled. "To a new friendship."


	27. Building Bridges

_Monday_

Caroline had forc- _talked_ me into sitting with her and her friends at lunch. Usually I ate out in the courtyard alone, especially in the colder months. My lunch had just finished cooking in the microwave when Care approached me and started dragging me towards table filled with teenage girls.

"This is a bad idea." I told the teen. "Can't I just eat outside again?"

Care shook her head. "No eating outside. Just have one lunch with these guys and if you don't want to, I will never ask again."

"No, you'll ask passively." I deadpanned.

Care laughed. "You know me so well." She continued to drag me towards the large table.

It had four girls around it. There was one I noticed as the school's senior, a pair of ninth graders, and a single eleventh grader.

The senior waved at Care. "Hey, is this Morgan?"

My new friend (for now) nodded. "Yep. Morgan, these are the girls." She gestured to the senior. "That's my sister, Anna."

"Hello." Anna greeted.

Care gestured to the eleventh grader. "That's Maddie."

"Hi."

The two ninth graders piped up. The one with strawberry blonde hair spoke first. "I'm Lauren, and this is Becca."

The second ninth grader raised her hand. "...hey..."

I waved. "There, I met them. Can I go now?" They all laughed. "I'm not joking."

Care guided me to an empty chair and dropped me in it. "We agreed you would spend _one_ lunch with me." She gestured to the table. "Here is your lunch, these are your peers, enjoy it."

"If you say YOLO, I will slap you." I warned, unpacking my lunch box.

Anna, Maddie, Care, and Lauren laughed. Becca made a disgusted look as she looked down at my plate.

"Ugh...what are those?" Becca asked, sounding disgusted.

I looked down at my plate. I usually had the same thing for lunch every day. Four mozzarella sticks, a small bag of chips, a banana, and a Little Debbie treat. The mozzarella sticks always kinda melted out onto the paper plate. "My lunch." I said.

"You can't eat that stuff." Becca said, sounding like a primpy teenager. "That's carbs."

I took my fork and ate a mozzarella stick. "If I cawed about carbth, I wouldn't be thitting hewe." I said.

"Eww! Don't talk like that!" Becca groaned. "It's disgusting!"

Swallowing, I looked half-heartedly at Becca. "If I cared about carbs, I would not be sitting here." I repeated.

"Fine, but don't come to us when you get fat." Becca said, returning to her meal of a simple salad.

"Becca!" Anna interjected.

"Hey!" Maddie said.

"Not cool, Becca, apologize." Caroline ordered.

"Yeah, Becca. That was mean." Lauren added.

"What? It's true! Carbs make you fat!"

"That's why I added a banana." I said, tossing the banana into the air. "Bananas are good. Full of potassium. Never go to a party without one."

But, none of them heard me. They were all still yelling at how Becca shouldn't call me almost fat.

This is why I don't hang around with teenagers. Makes me wish Darcy hadn't...died...because of me...

I was stopped mid-chew by my throat closing up. Hacking, I ran out of the cafeteria and out towards the courtyard. Trying to lock away my emotions wasn't working. Why couldn't my heart just turn itself off for a while? At least until this whole Darcy thing blew over.

Well, until then, I'll just cry in this corner. My cries echoing in the empty yard. I shut my eyes tight. My throat kept closing up, I think it must be a panic attack 'cause I can't breathe. I gripped my throat to try and start-up my breathing.

Damn it. Why did I have to cry? Darcy hates- _hated_ criers. Now I can't stop and I can't breathe. I can almost hear Darce mocking me. Maybe I'll get lucky and this will kill me.

Footsteps approached my hiding spot. At least three people. One of them grabbed my shoulders.

"Morgan, Morgan, honey are you alright?"

Great. As if my crying wasn't enough, now my mom is here. Fucking perfect. Just fucking perfect.

"Morgan, what's wrong? You can tell me." My mom pleaded.

"Becca said she was sorry. She didn't really mean it." Anna explained.

"*gasp* I *gasp* *sob* miss *gasp* *sniffle*." I cocked out.

"Who do you miss, Morgan?" Mom asked.

The third figure leaned down, in a whisper she said "Is this about what you told me in the library yesterday?"

Too riddled with sobs to speak, I nodded.

"Oh, okay. Um...can you two take a step back?" The sounds of Mom and Anna's shoes hitting the concrete filled my ears. Caroline gripped my shoulders. "It's okay Morgue, it's gonna be okay."

"No *gasp* it's *gasp* *sniffle* not." I sobbed.

"Yes it is." She grabbed the sides of my head and lifted it up so we made eye contact. "You. Are. Okay. It wasn't your fault." I started to shake my head. "No. What would she say if she saw you beating yourself up over this?"

" _Oh God, Morgue, stop fucking crying! It was gonna happen someday. Now, grab me a beer."_

Despite all the painful emotions in me, I chuckled. "That *gasp* it was *gasp* gonna happen *sniffle* someday." I was calming down. "Then she would tell me to stop crying." I chuckled again, wiping tears from my eyes. "She hates criers." I explained, still chuckling.

Care patted my shoulders, nervously. "There. Ya see? She wouldn't want you to be sad."

' _You don't know Darce like I did.'_ Shaking my head, I began lifting myself off the ground. "Okay. I'm okay. It's okay."

Care nodded. The two of us started walking back inside, although I was still a little shaky.

"What happened? Is she alright?" Mom asked.

Care glanced at me, silently asking for approval. She didn't want to break her promise. I shook my head.

"Morgue is just dealing with-"

" _Morg_?" Anna asked.

"Morgue." I corrected. "Morgue. It's my nickname...Care made it for me." I lied.

Anna nodded. Mom was still worried. "Morgan, are you okay? Do I need to take you home?"

I opened my mouth to tell her no, but then I thought it over. "Yeah. I think I need a nap."

A real one this time.

==DMLB==

 _Tuesday_

The next day, I walked into the school building. My family was already inside. Although, I noticed Becca standing by the main door of the building with a concerned expression on her face.

She gasped when she saw me. She ran up and immediately began talking. "Oh my God! I am _so, so, so_ sorry for what happened! I didn't mean to call you fat...not that you're fat! I just thought you should know about those carbs!" She gasped again. "I wasn't saying you were going to be fat! Please, please don't-"

"Stop." I ordered in my best angry parent voice. Being around Lilac these past few months had helped with that.

Becca closed her mouth, a surprised look on her face. She lowered her face, gazing down at her shoes in shame.

"Do not start graveling. It is beneath you." I gazed sharply. **"Look up."**

Becca's head snapped up.

"This school is to train _leaders_. Leaders do not lose eye contact. When apologizing, it would be wise if you kept eye contact."

"But-"

" **No.** " I ordered, looking right into her deep brown eyes. "You will look them in the eyes. You should also respect the choices others make in their lives. You have no right to judge them for their choices, as they have none for judging yours." I scolded. Looking into the building, I saw some of the students gathering in the Main Hall. "It's time for Morning Meeting. You're forgiven, yadda, yadda, yadda, let's make up and be buddies, blah, blah, blah. Goodbye." I said quickly, running into the building.

==DMLB==

 _Wednesday_

We walked towards English class in relative silence. Caroline looked over at me with worry.

"So, anything new happening?" Caroline asked.

"No." I said.

Caroline nodded. "Cool."

Another small moment of silence.

"Would you-"

"I am not sitting with your friends at lunch again. We agreed to one lunch." I said sternly.

"I wasn't gonna ask that." Caroline defended.

"Then what?"

Caroline stepped in front of me. "Would you like to go see _Rise of the Guardians_ with Anna, Maddie, Grace, and I?"

I stared at Caroline with disinterest. "Why?"

"Well, it's a cool stor-"

"No. I don't mean _'why should I come?'_. I meant _'why are four high school girls going to see this movie?'"_

"Ha. Funny story." She laughed nervously. "We were all just sitting around, when I said 'does anyone have the feeling we should watch this movie?' And everyone said yeah, they did." Caroline explained.

I sighed. "Sure. I have nothing Planned for tonight."

"It's tonight at seven forty-five. We'll pick you up at your house."

"How do you know where I lived?" I asked sternly.

"I visited Derek sometimes at your house." Caroline reminded. "You were there, we talked about Chemistry homework?"

I blushed, nervously rubbing the back of my head. "Oh...right."


	28. Master of Chaos vs Chaotic Teen

" **Raspberry Stardust!"**

"GAH!" I screamed, being forcibly awakened by somepony suddenly yelling in my ear. "I'm up!"

Turning towards the Mane 6, I saw them all giving me various glares. Except Fluttershy, she just looked confused. "What?"

"Miss Stardust." Celestia spoke from my left.

Blinking one last time to avoid sleep, I turned to the white alicorn. "Yessum?"

She gave me a slightly disappointed look. The same kind your favorite teacher gives you win you failed a test. "Please, the future of Equestria is at stake."

"I know." I said, rolling my hoof. "Mad chaos god, trapped in stone for over a thousand years, caused torment, hurt ponies, need the Elements, turn him back, yadda yadda yadda." Holding my hooves together, I made a questioning look toward Princess Celestia. "But, what I have trouble figuring out, is why _I'm_ here, and not it bed."

"Raspberry!" Rarity called out, surprised.

"What?" I asked. "It's a good question. You guys are all here because you're the Elements of Harmony," I pointed at the Princess, "She's here because she's in charge," I gestured to a nearby window where Discord was, "And he's here because it's fun."

"All true." The window spoke.

"And I'm here because, blank." I ignored the astonished looks on the ponies' faces. "Care to fill in the blank please?"

Celestia had a thoughtful look over her face before answering. "My sister and I believe you to be a great help to us."

I raised a brow. "That's not a real answer."

For a second, I saw a glint of distrust in Celestia's pink eyes. They turned back into their loving, caring, mentor eyes. "Why don't you tell us why you are here?"

"I was asleep, 'cause it's my day off. I woke up with Sparkle of Twilight pounding on my door. She dragged me down here." I explained. "Said it was an order from you. I just wanna know why I was included."

Celestia looked behind me.

"We believe you to be a valuable asset in taking down Discord."

My eyes widened. I turned back, seeing Luna standing behind me. Her mane was only just starting to get sparkly. She still looked serious.

"I want to know why." I asked.

Luna raised a brow. "We believe you to be valuable."

I shook my head. "I'm a master at wordplay." _'It's gotten me out of prison more times than I bare to count.'_ "Why do you think I am valuable?" The double entendre of my question went unnoticed by any but me.

Luna didn't answer. Celestia did.

"You have seen Discord before." Celestia said.

It clicked in my head. My dreams...I had the Phineas and Ferb ones...I had to use Discord as Doof because, quite frankly, he was the perfect guy for the job. On the beach episode, Luna was looking at the volcano.

"Oh please." I groaned, sounding an awful lot like the Doctor when talking about archeologists. "Please don't be those ponies. I _hate_ those."

"What kind of ponies?" Rainbow asked, protective of the Princess' reputation.

"The kind of ponies that think I'm working for the bad guy." I groaned, looking at Celestia pleadingly. "I don't work with Discord."

Celestia kept looking at me with interest. "I know."

"Then why did you really bring me here?" I asked, either calling her bluff or literally asking.

Celestia didn't move, except for one blink. She turned to Twilight Sparkle. "Since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Element, the spell over Discord's prison has broken."

"No longer connected?" Twilight pointed out.

Princess Celestia nodded, walking back towards the Element of Harmony box. "This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos."

"But why us? Why don't you-"

"Hey, look!" Pinkie cheered loudly. "We're famous!"

I looked over at the stain glass window. It was big, and showy. Overall, I thought it looked really nice.

One thing different, though, was in one dark little corner of the window, I saw a raspberry pink unicorn with blue and silver hair reading a book.

"Huh. Never been in a stain glass window before." I commented. Turned into stone, wood, that incident with the goop, and a household god in Ancient Rome. Stain glass, is now on my list. Sweet.

"You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!" Celestia decreed.

"Why is Raspberry in the window?" Rainbow Dash pointed out, sounding annoyed.

"None taken." I commented.

Rainbow scoffed.

"Whether or not you realize this, Rainbow Dash, Raspberry Stardust did have a hoof in helping stop Nightmare Moon." Celestia said. "She was the one who told you all about the location of the Elements, if I recall."

I smirked. I was getting credit for something! Something good, at that!

Twilight Sparkle beamed. "Princess Celestia, you can count on-"

"Hold on a second!" Pinkie yelled. We all turned to her. She looked serious. "Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate rain!"

"And, popcorn from corn." I added.

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to them, Princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again."

Celestia smiled. She stuck her horn into the small hole that served as a key. The vault opened, revealing a blue box covered in jewels. It was picked up with her golden magic.

"Ooh. You can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!" Rarity squealed.

Princess Celestia brought the box to the Mane 6. "Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!"

They all gasped. I just stood there with a confident smile on my face.

Pinkie Pie grinned. "Oh, well. If anypony needs me, I'll be outside in the chocolate puddles with a giant swizzle straw!" She walked towards the door. I considered joining her, but wanted to look at the other windows. That Discord one looked kinda cool.

"The Elements! They're gone!" Twilight yelled.

Celestia gaped, just as confused as the others. "That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!"

I giggled. Discord chuckled.

"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

I should know. When has anything I have done made sense? This might be why Celly and Lune wanted me here...

Celestia glared, looking around the room. "Discord...show yourself!"

I rolled my eyes. When has asking for the bad guy to show themselves actually worked?

Discord laughed again. "Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you. It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone." The draconequus said, floating around the window like it was a swimming pool.

"As a mare who got turned into stone once or twice, I can agree it's not that great." I said. "Kinda makes your head go a little wonky."

"Enough!" Celestia snapped, still looking for Discord. None of them seemed to have noticed (or cared about) my stone commented. "What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

"He moved them, I think." Damn my sarcastic nature.

Discord laughed. He liked my joke, apparently. "Yes. Just borrowed for a teensy little while."

Celestia stomped her hoof. "You'll never get away with this, Discord!"

"Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia." Discord commented. A bored look on his stain glasses face. "It's really quite boring."

Rainbow Dash flew up to the window where Discord was. "Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!"

She flew into the window, making me chuckle. Yes, it was wrong. No, I did not care.

Discord grinned. "Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head up in confidence. "That's right! I'll always be loyal to the Princess!"

"We'll see about that."

"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window." Rarity commented.

"The beautiful Rarity, representing the element of generosity, if I'm not mistaken?" Discord commented, floating over to the stain glass version of Rarity.

"So you know who we are, big deal." Applejack shrugged.

Discord grinned. "Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack."

Twilight Sparkle had a look of deep thought on her face. Like trying to figure out a puzzle. "You seem to know our strengths too."

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic." The spirit of chaos and disharmony gloated. Trust me, I know floating when I see one. I traveled with the Doctor for three years, almost four. "Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine- laughter."

Discord flashed in the photo, appearing on Twilight's head. He started doing the moonwalk. Pinkie and I started to laugh.

"Raspberry! Pinkie!"

"He's standing on your head!"

"It _is_ funny." I laughed.

"And you, Raspberry Stardust." Discord commented. Her floated down to the me in the corner. "Just sitting on the sidelines, like you always do."

"What? I actually like that dark, little corner. Thank you very much!" I defended it. "Just ask anyone who knows me. They'll day you can always find me in a dark corner."

"Never really noticed, never really cared for." Discord said. Okay...not gonna lie...that stung a bit. "Always showing up exactly when they needed help, but they never appreciate it, do they? That's all a part of the Plan?"

I flinched back. I warned her not to say anything around Discord! "What Plan?"

Discord just smirked. "You know what Plan."

If she weren't dead, I would bring her back just to kill her again.

There was a strike of sadness in my heart. Still too soon to joke about it. Give or take another month.

"Stop stalling, Discord!" Celestia yelled. "What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

Discord rolled her yellow and red eyes. "Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way." The draconequus grinned. "To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events."

I turned to where I remembered Twilight and Discord standing in the flashback. I waved.

"Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began."

He flashed away.

The game is afoot!

==DMLB==

The maze was very confusing. I made a few twist and turns before realizing I could really get lost in this place. Dang, I really shoulda brought some gold thread.

Making one more turn, I found myself in one of those large empty spaces like from the show. It was filled with bushes cut up like ponies.

" _You're such a freak, Raspberry."_

I turned to the bush to my left. It was of a mare posing in a raised position. "Why, thank you. I worked ever so hard on it."

Walking on, I glanced at the rest of the bushes in various poses.

" _Why are you so weird?"_

The next bush I looked at was of a stallion in a proud pose.

"Weird is a side effect of awesomeness, not like you would know." I explained to it plainly.

" _Why are you talking to a plant?"_ A bush-mare asked.

"Because, you won't show your face, Discord, so I have to make do."

*flash*

The draconequus appeared before me, an almost annoyed look on his face. His yellow/red mismatched eyes glared at me. "Why do you insist on ruining my fun?"

"Why do _you_ insist on ruining _my_ fun? I was trying to have a pleasant conversation with a plant before somepony came and ruined it." I said, half glaring at the god.

He snapped a claw and all the bushes vanished. "You are one tough nut to crack, Raspberry." Discord said, his head turning into a pistachio nut. "Like Fluttershy."

"Before you used your magic on her and made her turn mean." I said plainly. "Or with Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, and soon Rainbow Dash." I walked past him. "Too bad Twilight is too strong for you, like me."

Discord scoffed, flashing himself in front of me.

"You? Stronger than Twilight? Oh please, Raspberry," He squeezed my cheek with his eagle claw. "You are so naive."

"I am too smart!" I argued, stomping my hoof on the floor. "Sure, it's not book smart like Sparkle of Twilight, but it's smart!"

Discord scoffed again. "No you aren't."

"Yeah, you're right." I admitted, nodding my head. "I suck at book smarts. Lots of stuff just hasn't clicked. Must be stupid."

Discord blinked. "Do you have _any_ self respect?"

I tapped my hoof to my chin. "Hmmm, well. I do have some of my own self respect. Well...I say it's mine, most of it is just patchwork respect. Don't you just hate patchwork?" My eyes widened when I realized my mistake. "No offense."

The God of Chaos blinked.

I chuckled, realizing that was kinda funny before looking back to the approaching group of mares. "Sparkle of Twilight!" *flash*

The purple unicorn looked over at me with a slight distaste. The other four approached, each with just a hint of grayness to their usual color.

"Hello Raspberry." Twilight greeted, sounding exhausted.

"You will not believe the adventures I've had!" I cheered in a sing song voice. "I-"

"Don't have the time."

I gaped. She was being rude. I shrugged, not her fault.

The six of us walked out of the clearing. I was in the back, because apparently they trusted me even less when they were gray.

I heard giggling from behind me. My head snapped towards it.

"Raspberry, come on!" Twilight yelled. "We have to find Rainbow Dash!"

"Sparkle of Twilight, I'm gonna go this way. You go find Rainbow." I said, walking toward the giggling. There was a good chance they couldn't hear it.

"Don't you-ugh! What am I even doing? She never listens to me anyway! Why would the end of Equestria make her start?" Twilight grumbled, running off.

The other five slowly followed, each having their own petty argument.

The giggling got louder. It sounded so familiar...

I walked a little faster towards it. There was movement in the corner of my eye, and I saw the end of a red tail.

I ran after the culprit. They turned around a corner just when I did, so I could never see them.

This went on for five corners, until I ended up back into the empty clearing.

I groaned. It was probably just a pegasus, or another one of Discord's tricks.

"Wow. I never thought I would see a day when _you_ chased _me_."

My eyes widened in horror. "No." I pleaded, to the universe.

Turning to the voice, I saw her.

Her coat was pale pink, almost like the pink sand of Bermuda. Her mane was dark scarlet, like blood. Her eyes were a familiar shade of orange. There was a horn on her head, poking out from the mane.

Her cutiemark was like mine, except the book was black and without the jumprope.

Morgana smiled at me. "Oh. A pony. A magical pony. Always knew you were a child at heart. Haha, remember when you had two of those? Oh. the things I could've done with an endless life like that." She trotted around the clearing, as though getting used to hooves. "I remember when you were a superhero. That girl was fun. Artisans he Fifth Teen Titan, that took some time to make. How about when you were an anti-hero? Mistress Tiger, co-conspirator to the Green Hornet. Oh, she was a _bad_ girl!"

Morgana grinned, one that was just like Her's when a bad idea came to her. "You've had a bunch of those, haven't you? Bad girls. Jo Getter. SSA Megan Quinn. Me."

I shook my head. Discord knew our weakness, and this was just another weakness. "Not real. Not real. Not real."

"Oh come now, _Raspberry_." Morgana blinked, hiding her orange eyes for just a second. "Me oh my. I need a pony name. Morgana just doesn't feel right, does it?" She tapped her chin. "Morning Split. Yes. Cause this coat looks like a pink sky at sunset, and I'm all your darkness split away. Perfect name, wouldn't you say?" She grinned at me, showing me she had fangs in her mouth.

My eyes shrunk. Weird how you can feels your pupils shrinking when you're a cartoon. "Mor-"

"-Ning Split." She corrected. "If I have to play by your name, you play by mine."

I huffed. " _Morning Split_." I snarled. "This body is mine. I'm not gonna let you touch it."

"I said nothing about wanting to touch it." Morning scoffed. "I want to own it. Were you always this stupid?"

I glared. "You're not gonna own it, either. It's mine."

Morning rolled her orange eyes. "So childish. Why can't you just learn the value of sharing?"

I growled.

Morning pouted. "Come on. You and I used to be so close."

"I hated you." I snapped. "I _still_ hate you."

The unicorn walked closer to me, walking around me like a predator about to grab it's prey. "Even though I gave you her?"

I turned to her, giving her a hate filled look. "Don't you dare talk about her."

"What? Still too early to laugh at it?" Morning Split snapped. My eyes widened. "Too early to laugh at how you killed her?"

"Shut up." I hissed.

"Too early to laugh at how you were the dangerous one? That you _are_ the dangerous one?" Morning taunted.

"Shut. Up." I hissed.

Morning laughed. "How can you even look at Lilac, knowing you killed her aunt? Your own sister-"

"SHUT! UP!"

She could talk about Her all she liked. She can call me a monster until the cows came home. She can make me remember every life I have ever taken. Hell, she can even talk about when she was in control of me.

But she could _not. Talk. About. Lilac._

Morning Split gave me a curious look. "You actually think she's your daughter?"

"She's one of mine." I defended. "I love her, and she loves me. It's not the love of sisters, but of a mother and daughter. How dare you suggest I would do anything to harm my child? The only reason I stay fighting now, because me falling apart means she'll lose her mother. I've been an orphan before, dozens of times, and I know what it's like to not have any family. I will be damned if I leave her alone like that." I ranted.

Morning actually looked afraid. "You don't love her. Lilac isn-"

*SLAP*

Morning hissed, pulling a good up to her cheek. It turned a darker shade of pink.

" _Never_. Say. Her. Name." I ordered. Morning looked surprised that I had managed to slap her. "And don't you dare say I don't love her. Lilac is mine. I've been denying it for too long. She is my daughter. As long as my daughter is alive, as long as she is safe, I won't let you win.

"Morning Split, as long as I have my daughter, you can never take my body."

Morning Split faded away, a shell shocked look on her face.

I blinked. Did I actually just stand up to her?

Woo-hoo!

==DMLB==

It was a few minutes after this sorts victory that I heard talking.

"Stop it, Discord. You're not playing fair." Twilight snapped.

"Not playing fair?" I laughed. "Sparkle of Twilight, he's the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I think you just defined him."

I just stood up to Morgana. I just stood up to Morgana. Nothing can bring me down from this high.

Have you ever conquered your biggest fear like that? It's like...the best feeling in the world! I feel like singing!

I could vaguely hear Discord laughing. I was too wrapped up in my own joy to really care.

I just stood up to Morgana. I just stand to Morgana.

There was a crash of thunder.

I just stood up to Morgana. I just stood up to Morgana.

Twilight's voice grabbed my attention. "You!"

"Me!" I laughed.

"You were waving at me!" Twilight shouted.

Oh. The flashback. Forgot I did that. "I did." I smirked.

"How? How did you even know where I would be?" Twilight asked.

"Easy. I knew you wouldn't be able to decode his riddle, so I thought I would give you a little help."

"Help?!" Twilight growled. "How does waving at me help?!"

"Because that means I understood the riddle."

Twilight looked ready to yell again, but stopped. "How?"

I took a quick breath. "Twists and turns all part of his master plan. He's trying to confuse us. He's Discord, he thrives off of chaos. Us going to this maze gave him the chance to break you six apart. He's made Applejack a liar, Pinkie a grump, Rarity greedy, Fluttershy mean, and Rainbow disloyal."

"He played us." Twilight said.

I nodded. "You were trying too hard to decipher every little word. He told you exactly where to look." I walked up to her, giving her a serious yet kind look. "You will find the Elements back where you began."

Twilight scrunched up her face. "Back where we began?"

"Twilight, I need you to listen to me, and I need you to be very, very calm." I instructed. The purple unicorn paid attention. "On the Summer Sun Celebration, where did the Elements of Harmony begin?"

"The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters." Twilight answered.

"Nope, further back."

"The Everfree Forest?" Twilight answered a little more nervously.

"Further." She was so close.

Her face was scrunched up in thought, but suddenly lit up. "The Elements of Harmony Reference Guide!"

"There ya go!" I cheered. "He put the Elements inside the book back in Ponyville!"

Twilight cheered. "We figured it out!" She paused. "Wait...you figured that all out in the Element of Harmony Hall."

I nodded. "I've spent most of my life decoding riddles. It's no big deal."

"Raspberry, that was amazing! You decoded his entire riddle _as he was saying it_!" Twilight smiled. Then she paused. "You...You've been helping us."

I nodded. "Ever since you came to Ponyville, Sparkle of Twilight."

"You-"

"Twilight, I would love to have a heart to heart moment with you." I lied. "But right now, let's save Equestria from Discord."

The purple unicorn looked unsure, but nodded. "Good point."

==DMLB==

I did not Depressed Twilight.

Twilight was all gray, which was strange. It made me feel...feelings. I had gotten used to seeing her being purple, with bits of blue and pink. I got used to her being mad at me, because it was fun.

Facing down Morgana made me so happy, but seeing Twilight and the rest of my friends hurt made me feel sad.

She had just told Discord she didn't care. She just didn't care.

I did not like Depressed Twilight.

Discord circled around me. He looked annoyed. "And you? What about you? Why are you still so happy? I called you a freak to your face!"

"Others have." I shrugged. "Why shouldn't you?"

"All of you friends hate you!"

"You say it like they didn't already." I pointed out. "Pinkie and Fluttershy were the only two who were actually friendly to me. The others were annoyed by me. Sparkle of Twilight more than any of them."

Discord growled. "What about that mare? The one I saw you with at that big dance party?"

"You and I have one more thing in common." I said, flatly.

"What could we possibly have in-"

"My family is dead." I answered. "Everyone hates me, everyone thinks I'm insane so they avoid me. You were right, in the Tower. They don't trust me. No one ever does. My sister was the first person to really trust me, and she died. She died trying to kill me." I took a breath. "It all hurts. It never stops." I wanted to glare at him, but I knew it wasn't Discord's fault. "I conquered my greatest fear today."

My eyes widened. "Lilac!" I yelled.

I ran off towards my house. She was lost somewhere in the middle of the Chaos Capital of the World!

==DMLB==

"Lilac!" I yelled.

Just the shouts and screams of other ponies.

"Lilac!" I called out.

Nothing.

I grunted. Where was she?

It was Tuesday. Where are they at one o'clock on a Tuesday?

My eyes widened. "The field trip to Canterlot!"

My daughter was lost in Canterlot!

"Biscuit eating frog turd!" I snapped, running towards the trains. They may not be working, but I could run the tracks to Canterlot!

I would keep her safe Story-dammit!

==DMLB==

Before I could make it to the station, I saw the Mane 6 flying in a balloon overhead.

I grumbled. Not enough time to see if Lilac was okay. I grabbed a piece of paper from nearby, using my magic as a pen instead.

' _Lilac, please, are you safe? -Mommy'_

I cast the spell that would send it to her. Please have something to write with...please have something to write with...please have something to write with.

A puff of blue fire appeared over me, releasing the same piece of paper.

There, in black ink, was just one word.

' _Yes'_

It was all I would get at the moment. When Discord was gone, the trains would be running and Lilac would come home. She would come home and be safe.

' _When you come back, tell Cheerilee you are going straight to the library. Mommy loves you Lilac, stay safe please.'_

I sent the letter away, running over to watch the Mane 6 take down Discord.

==DMLB==

Twilight guided me into the library, asking me to sit on the couch. I did.

"So." I began. "What questions do you have?"

"How did you figure out I was the Element of Magic?" Twilight asked quickly. "Nowhere did it mention what the sixth Element was."

I took a breath. "Let me start from the beginning. When I arrived, I heard whispers of an old legend. The Mare in the Moon. Titles like that are actually better clues. The Mare in the Moon, meaning not just one on the moon. That meant somepony was inside the moon. I found out about the Elements of Harmony during my research, and then I noticed the ponies around Ponyville who would best embody those Elements. Ponyville, of course, because it was closest to the Royal Pony Sister Castle. That also gave me a clue. The Mare in the Moon was Celestia's sister. I did some searching inside the castle itself, finding a lot of references to Celestia raising the sun, and another blue alicorn raising the moon. After a little more research, I found the name. Princess Luna."

"That's how you knew who Princess Luna was when we arrived at your house." Twilight commented.

I nodded. "Back to the Elements, I noticed only five ponies who could fit. The Sixth Element I had a little more trouble figuring out. I noticed each of the Elements stood for something in friendship, so I tried thinking of what else there was in friendship. Then it hit me. You became friends with them thanks to a spark, however small it was. The Sixth Element was really just a combination of the other five. So, whoever it was had to be all of the Elements. I couldn't find anypony in Ponyville like that."

Twilight was paying close attention. "Then I showed up."

"The day of the Celebration. Plus, your cutiemark practically represents the Element of Magic. One giant Element, combined with the other five." I smirked. "Sometimes, the universe doesn't even try to surprise me."

Twilight shook her head, as if a weird thought just entered her mind. "Wait. But, if you already knew that much about the Elements, why did you get the book?"

I gave her a curious look. "To help you. I like helping."

"You like helping?" Twilight asked, sounding disbelieving.

"Yeah. That was a clever lie." I smirked. "I love helping." I answered, feeling like telling the truth. "I spent my whole life helping ponies, ever since I knew how to."

"Why would you do that?" Twilight asked.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

Twilight groaned. "We're clos-"

"Mom?" A small voice asked.

I ran to the door, using my magic to open the door and pull Lilac in. "Lilac!"

"Mommy!" Lilac cheered.

I wrapped my hooves around her, holding tight. She wrapped her claws over me, squeezing. Her claws dug into my coat, but it was okay.

She was okay.

I pulled her off, looking her over. "Are you hurt? Did anything happen? Twilight has a book on medical procedures if something happened!" I lifted her arms up, looking them over. "Did any of your scales get pulled off? I'll need to patch them up. Any thorns or scraps? Even if it's a little one you gotta tell me!"

Lilac giggled. "Mommy, I'm okay! Miss Cheerilee took us all to this little shack. The door had a lock, so we were all safe!"

I let out a reach of air I had been holding since I remembered she was lost in Canterlot. I wrapped her up into a hug, holding her for dear life.

Twilight finally said something. "You do it for her."

I brushed some of Lilac's blue head scales. I kissed her forehead, still holding her close. "I've done it all for her."

==DMLB==

When Luna came that night, I have her a great show.

"Lune, tonight we are having a party!" I announced. The Night Princess started to smile. "I did a lot of good stuff today. Makes me feel proud of myself. As you can tell, there is no orange door."

Luna looked around, a pleasant smile now on her face.

"Discord helped me conquer her. I found that wonderful. That deserves celebration, do you agree my friend?"

Luna looked confused, and apprehensive. "You...still think of Us are your friend?"

"Why would..." I blinked. "Oh. Right. Thinking I was helping Discord. Forgot you did that."

Luna looked down.

"Two parties!" I announced. "One for the me being self confident, and one for us being friends! I'm starting feel like Pinkie, all of these parties."

My friend still looked confused. "Why do you-"

"You betrayed me." I said simply. "I gave you my friendship, a rare deed, and you used it as a tool to prove my guilt of a crime I was innocent of." I looked her in the eyes. "Do you honestly think our friendship means that little to me?"

Luna smiled.

"Oh, and, do you like queso or salsa?" I asked. "I can make both, but would like to know if I even need to make the dream queso."

Luna laughed. "Thou art senile!"

"Thou ist correct in thy assumption!" I laughed.

==DMLB==

Twilight Sparkle slept soundly that night.

Well, she did. Dreaming of mountains of books for her to study. Of all her friends studying with her. Of her making a checklist for the rest of her life.

It was all good, until she showed up.

A pegasus, with a blood red coat, and a silver mane.

Twilight blinked, confused. Was this somepony her dream invented? A new pony to help organize? "Who are-"

"Canterlot, I'm giving you a responsibility." The pegasus snapped. "I was able to use some magic to get myself here. According to Tracy, I'm one of those Createds that aren't really Createds and I'm actually -of-9's _'Traveler'_. It's kinda like being -of-9's elf. You just miss the most important part. What a ripoff."

Twilight flinched back. The pegasus was definitely not a part of her dream. "Hey! How did you-"

"Razzle needs you." The pegasus cut Twilight off. "Just like she needed me. There always has to be an opposite. The serious one, and the funny one. I was the funny one, and Razzle was the serious one."

The pegasus looked down, her silver mane falling over her face.

Twilight was confused. Raspberry Stardust, who called her Sparkle of Twilight, was the _serious_ one? Now she knew this was a dream.

"Look, you can't go into somepony's dre-"

That was when Twilight heard it.

The dripping.

The dripping of the pegasus' tears.

She was crying.

"Razzle is the funny one, now." The pegasus said through her tears. "You are the serious one. I need someone to watch her. I need to know she'll be okay."

The pegasus looked up, showing Twilight her tear filled purple eyes. "Promise me she will be okay."

Twilight didn't know what to say. What do you say when somepony invades in your dream, crying, and asking for your help?

"I promise." Twilight said.

The pegasus smiled. "Storyline, I'm crying. Andersons ain't supposed to cry. Cold, emotionless robots, we are."

When Twilight woke up, she didn't remember the crying red pegasus. She did remember the promise, though.

She would be Raspberry's friend. The mare who made ponies happy, and risked her own, all for her daughter.


	29. Movie Night

The day had gone...actually quiet. I had gone back Home once I put Lilac to bed. She was okay, surprising after the day she had. She was only five for Story's sake!

I was still working over the Plan. I couldn't go back to Equestria without a good plan.

Some things could stay the same. Like my plan for the Chery Episode: staying in Ponyville. My emergency plan for if Lilac was ever picked for Family Appreciation Day was gone, so that was a thing I would have to fix. Sisterhoof Social was out the window.

It was all falling apart.

Don't even get me started on what to do with Mia and Shiny's wedding. I would have to start working soon so I could get invited, maybe get made Maid of Honor. That would be funny, I would need to take a photo of Sparkle of Twilight's face if that ever happened.

Ugh. Planning is difficult. But, somehow fun.

What could I do as procrastination?

==DMLB==

Math. Math is what I can do.

I started doing a month's worth of math work. It shouldn't be too long. I've done this class at least five times.

Once, in _Full House_ , once in _My Wife and Kids_ , once in _George Lopez_ , once in _Hannah Montana_ , once in _Kim Possible_ , and finally once in _Lilo and Stitch_.

What? I stayed ten years in that one! That counts!

Point is, I could do this geometry.

Dad didn't think I could. He would have a tutor come on Tuesdays and help me. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to pretend to be stupid so they don't suspect I've gone through high a dozen times?

He would sometimes sit me down and demand I do math. The problem wasn't that I didn't do it, it was just that I wouldn't turn it in.

It's incredibly boring going to his math class. To hear the same lesson again and again. Hell, once class I mouthed the lesson as he was teaching it! To hear the same questions being asked by the students. To have to hold back on wrapping my hands around their throat.

I had to turn in ten lessons of math. I had done twelve, plus two tests.

Now, I was finishing lesson 46. Three chapters ahead of the rest of the class. I'll turn it in on Friday, so maybe I can do _Lesson Zero_ in peace.

The joy of being Morgan Spencer.

==DMLB==

Everyone thinks I have no friends. Everyone.

They would ask me if I had anyone to talk to. If I had anyone who believed me (really sad when this comes from Mom) or for me to believe in.

That's not exactly how it is.

My mind flashed to four people. Darcy Anderson, the friend who tried to kill me. Caroline Bellingham, the friend who cared. Princess Luna, the friend who understood. Pinkie Pie, the friend who decided to be my friend without care or consequence.

Then I thought about other problems. My relationship with Mom is strained at best, same with the rest of my family. I'm still rewriting Plans from now until the Crystal Empire. Any day, I could be taken over by some creepy psycho bitch who enjoys hurting people, even though I told her she couldn't have me. I have a lot of homework due, mainly because I was too blinded by grief to do much of it.

Oh, and prom is _tomorrow_!

I chuckled a bit at my own joke.

A sudden light attracted my attention over to my phone. Someone had just sent me a text. Walking over to me phone, I saw it was a text from Care.

' _The movie is 7:30 tonight. We'll pick u up at 6:45, since u r closest to the theater.'_

I frowned, then smiled. Right. _Rise of the Guardians_. Looking forward to that. Wonder what mythical character I'll be?

' _It's theatre, Care.'_

' _:P'_

==DMLB==

*knock* *knock* *knock*

The knocks came at 6:46. Not too bad.

I grabbed my purse, running out of the house. In it, I had my wallet, keys, phone, headphones, and a few pens. I know, real girly girl I am.

"Love you, Morgan." My mom called out.

"Bye." I said, curtly.

Of course, being 192 has it perks. I have a lot of money saved up, from the multiple jobs and such. Most of it I had put in savings, a set 35% of my cash was in checking. It gave me about...$254,998.3. Just guessing.

Like I said, being 192 has it's perks.

I saved a lot of money staying homeless, or living in dingy apartments. Oh, and participating in a robbery every few movies. It's easier than you think to sell stuff of the black market.

I walked up to the driveway, seeing one of those station wagons from the 80's. I didn't judge, since I once drove in the Mystery Van.

Care was waving to me from the passenger seat. Rolling my eyes, I went up to the car.

I sat in the back, where two other girls sat.

Maddie I recognized. The other girl, not so much.

"Hello." I said.

"Hi." The girl said. "I'm Grace."

"Morgan." I introduced myself. Ugh, it feels kinda weird to go back to my real name after being called Raspberry and Mom.

Grace looked like a sweet girl. 5'4, I'm guessing. Her hair was neck length, brown, and held back in a messy bun. She has gently brown eyes, and some acne on her face.

"We asked around the school, and Grace wanted to come with." Anna explained, backing out of the driveway.

I nodded, looking out the window as they drove out of the neighborhood.

"So, how are we doing this?" Care asked.

"Me and you have our own money."

"You and I." I corrected, still looking out the window.

Care laughed.

Anna did too. "Right."

"I have my own cash, so I can pay for myself."

"Me too." Grace said.

"Covered." I admitted. "You guys can use my Regal card. I'm close to a free movie ticket."

"Me too." Maddie said.

"We can use Morgan's first, then Maddie's." Anna said. "Popcorn?"

"I'm buying myself a large popcorn, and a large sprite." I said.

"Sounds good."

I nodded, looking out the window. The white noise of the others talking filled my ears, something about chemistry class. Wow, going to the movies was fun.

==DMLB==

The movie theatre was really close to my house. Town Centre was maybe a five minute drive, and then a five minute walk to the theatre.

I walked ahead of the girls, since they were all so busy gossiping. I found the ticket booth, and saw our movie was in 3D.

"Hey Carver." I said, walking up to the ticket booth.

The dark skinned man behind the glass grinned at me. "Morgan. Back again I see."

"Yeah."

He looked at the girls behind me. "You brought friends."

"Yep." I counted. "That's one for the seven thirty _Rise of the Guardians_." I passed him my debit card and regal card.

Carver nodded. He did the transaction, then gave me my ticket. "Oh, and you just earned another free movie ticket."

I laughed. "Oh joy. I think I might end up seeing _Wreck-It Ralph_ with it."

"Didn't you see that last week?" Carver asked.

I smirked. "Yep. Gonna see it again."

Carver laughed, handing me my ticket.

I handed my regal card to Care. "You go to the movies a lot?"

"Enough to earn 1,200 points." I shrugged. "Since I just got a movie ticket."

Care's jaw dropped. "That's a lot of popcorn."

I laughed. "Never doubt Morgan's love of popcorn! Rule 49." With that, I skipped off into the theatre.

"Hey Tori!" I cheered, seeing who was working today.

The blonde woman at the tearing ticket station smiled at me. "Hi Morgan."

"I haven't seen you in forever." I said, handing her my ticket.

She tore it up. "Yeah. You haven't been here in a week or two."

"School was extra difficult." I sighed, seeing the others walk in. "Oh. I brought company."

"Well, you're in theatre one on your left. Enjoy." Tori said.

"Always do." I said, stepping aside so my friends could go.

Tori looked at all my friends, smiling pile all employees do. I skipped over to the concession lines, not very long.

Soon, Care and Maddie joined me. "You know everyone that works here?" Care pointed out.

I shrugged. "Just the ones you interact with." Soon we were at the front of the line. "Bailey! Good ta see ya."

The worker smiled at me. "Hello Morgan." He held up a box of milk duds. "Can I interest you in milk duds?"

I shook my head, grabbing a box of Cookie Dough bites. "No, but can I have this and a number one? Large sprite, large popcorn."

Bailey nodded, going off to fill out my order.

"How can you afford all of this?" Maddie asked. "I thought you didn't have a job."

I drew a blank. What could I say to people who could bring it back to Mom or Dad? "I work nights." Not technically a lie.

"Do you sell drugs?" Maddie joked.

"You looking to buy?" I joked back.

She laughed. Bailey came back to give me my order.

"That'll be $27.45." Bailey said.

I handed him my debit and regal card. On my way to a free popcorn!

==DMLB==

The five of us walked into the theatre.

Because the movie had been out for awhile, we were pretty much all alone in the theatre.

We sat near the bottom, in front of this bars. I picked my feet up, putting down my drink, candy, and food.

Care sat next to me. Maddie next to her. Anna next to her, and then Grace at the end. A part of me was very happy Lauren and Becca didn't come.

The caramel haired girl reached over, taking some of my popcorn.

"I don't recall the conversation where I said this was popcorn to share." I commented dryly.

Care just laughed.

"Not a joke." I commented, pulling the popcorn away from her.

Care smirked, eating the popcorn she had stolen from me. "So, what was that you said earlier about Rule 9?"

"49." I corrected. "Never doubt my love of popcorn."

Maddie leaned over. "Rules? Since when was that a rule?"

"It's one of my rules." I stated. "Morgan Spencer has rules."

"What are a few of them?" Care asked.

"Yeah. This is the most I have ever heard you talk." Maddie commented. "Keep going!"

"Rule One: I lie." I stated. "Rule Two: Make the impossible happen. Rule Three: Never give up. Rule Four: She knows everything. Rule Five-"

"Wait, what?" Care laughed.

"-She never guesses." I finished. "What?"

"You know everything?" Care laughed.

"Yes." I argued. "Could you not already tell?"

Maddie laughed. "Morg, you're hilarious!"

"Morgue." I corrected. Why did I have the feeling I would be correcting a lot. "Don't make fun of the Rules." I said, my voice low.

"We're not making fun of the rules, just that one." Maddie pointed out.

I smirked. Clever.

"Wait. Are there forty-nine rules?" Grace asked. "Since the one with popcorn was 49?"

"I have close to seventy-five off of the top of my head." I stated. "Most of which I have taken from horror movies."

"Oh, now those are some good rules." Maddie said.

"Definately." Care agreed. "What are some of them?"

"Never say be right back, never do drugs, no heels, no driving a car unless I can repair it, no basement checks, and no going to parties at the main character's house." I listed.

The girls all laughed. A small family a ways behind us shushed.

"Sorry." Anna called back.

Just in time, the previews started.

This summer, Morgan Spencer will be...

==DMLB==

The movie was over.

The five of us were walking out, talking about our favorite moments. Well, I was. They were talking about how cute Jack looked.

I walked back to concessions, getting my popcorn bucket refilled and my soda. Anna joined me, since she had a Diet Coke.

Once that was done, we all went towards the door.

"Morgan?" A voice called.

I turned, seeing a manager come up to me. She looked a little miffed. What had I done now?

"Yes," I looked at her name tag. "Mission?" Not the weirdest name ever.

She handed me a slip of paper. "Someone came by, and said it was for you."

Curious, I took the slip of paper. It just had some message, written in a specific shade of blue ink.

' _1-800-555-1945. XO.'_

My eyes widened. Could it be...?

"Sorry girls. I have to take this."

==DMLB==

I ran outside, pulling my Infinity Bag up. I know the phone I had the Doctor make universal was around here somewhere.

It was a old flip phone, since I liked ending phone calls that way. It used to be my dad's, but he stopped using it. Unless I charged it, it was a basic toy.

I dialed the number on the piece of paper. Future Me usually never messages this direct, unless it was important.

The person on other end picked up.

" _Hello sweetie."_

I squealed, quietly. This was my first contact with her since _Silence in the Library_. She washed usual self, a few changes here and there. She called the Doctor just sweetie instead of pretty boy, and when I asked her why, she said pretty boy was taken. I assume she was talking about Eleven.

She was still sad. Even though I knew who she was. It like I was still missing this huge piece of a puzzle. It pissed me off.

She had given me a message from Future Me. A raspberry beret, with pictures down into the inside of the hat. I figured out one of the pictures: a banana and a ruby over a purple heart. Lilac.

The other three I was having more trouble with. _'DA/KJ+VP',_ a gold tiara over an outline of wings, and a jar of honey over a heart. Not a bear shaped jar, or anything stupid like that. It was kinda like a baby food jar, with a picture of a bee ready to sting on it.

Future Me pisses me off sometimes.

"Hello Rivy." I said.

I had greeted her like this in the Library. She was less than enthused. So, I knew this was her nickname.

She groaned, lightly. _"Must you always call that?"_

"Must you call me sweetie? No offense, but that makes me sound like your girlfriend. I'm not too eager to share a partner with the Doctor."

I could hear her smirking. _"Right. Well, then just what should I call you?"_

"Something other than sweetie." I laughed. "No pet names. Just something. Why do I have to do all the work?"

River laughed. _"I'll get on that."_ She paused a moment.

"Where are we?" I asked. Time to sync up the diaries.

" _I just finished Florida."_

I laughed. "Oh. Sorry for anything he may or not have done. I don't know. I haven't lived it yet."

" _One of these days I'm going to remember to ask you first."_

"Not a chance." I laughed. "Why did you send your number here?"

River scoffed. _"You told me to call a theatre, then give them my number. What else was I supposed to do?"_

I shrugged. "Good point." I sighed. "What's the word on the street?"

"Morgan!" A voice yelled.

Looking over, I saw my friends motion me to come towards them. I rolled my eyes. "Okay. Got move and talk. River, I'll have to respond in code."

" _You love talking in code."_

I laughed, walking up to my new friends. They were all laughing about the movie.

"As you were." I instructed River.

" _You left me a letter, detailing what I was supposed to say and ask."_ River explained.

"Sure it's from Terra?" I asked.

" _You wrote it in Spanish."_

"Ah." I nodded. "Well. On with the letter."

" _How did you survive Torchwood Manor?"_

I thought it over. Torchwood was still way back with Rose. The two of them had gone ahead, but I stayed behind so as not to ruin my surprise. When I was young, I Jumped to that book series _Royal Diaries_ under the name Lady Camilla Swift of Orange Manor. So, I got to have a bit of fun with that.

I came out from the TARDIS in a time period dress. I introduced myself as Lady Terra Johnson of Orange Manor, daughter of the late Lady Swift. Queen Victoria, or Toria as I called her when I was Camilla, was very impressed to see me. The Doctor was so confused.

Seriously. When he gives you his confused face, it's like the best thing in the world. I wish I had taken a picture.

Oh, the things I did. I spoke with a clear, crisp words. I maintain proper poise. My hands were kept clasped in front of me. Basically, I followed all of the advice I had been getting from princess, queens, and ladies since I first met one.

It was all going great. Seeing Toria after a century, and hearing more about her. Leaving the Doctor in a recurring state of confusion.

Then, the werewolf happened.

The wolf was chasing us all. We were close to the room where the mistletoe was. Then, out of nowhere, the Doctor gets all pissy at me. He shoves me into a closet, and then leaves.

I got out of the closet, just in time for the werewolf to come around. That was when I blacked out.

"I...actually don't know. Something about... burning." I said.

When I woke up, I was in the mistletoe room. My soul felt like it was on fire. Like, melting inside me fire. There was an imprint on my brain of being possessed, but not for long.

Possessed? Oh. The same manner of possession as in _Danny Phantom_. Each ghost has their own possession feel. Walker and his goons feel of misery with smell of metal. Desiree had taste of bliss with a blue sound. Danny had feel of blue with taste of green. I had feel of strawberry and taste of yellow.

You really do just taste yellow after I possess you! Don't ask.

Why is that important? Because that was what I found when I woke up. I was possessed by myself. Or, at least, someone who has my ghost feel. Like, a clone.

So. Anyway. That was it.

No. Wait. The Doctor got even more confused when I revealed I was Camilla the whole time. Then, Queen Victoria gave me another Honorary. Lady Terra of TARDIS.

That made me more important the Doctor. Ha! I love flaunting that in his face.

" _Yes. Future You said that is how take on...according to this letter, the_ 'changelings' _."_ River explained to me.

Huh. She said it in that tone where she was trying to hide what she knew. It was fairly easy to spot if you paid attention. Why would she hide her knowledge of changelings?

My face scrunched up in confusion. "What the heck does that mean?"

" _Hold on. There's more."_ River said, almost like a child scolding their child. I groaned, almost stomping my foot. _"It also says you've used this power before, but it only works in the virtual realities."_

I scoffed. "I used the player, Emily, from GWS." I said. "She's really awesome. Got these werewolf powers. How else was I gonna take out that boss?"

There was the sound of pages turning. _"She says the other one was 'Voice Over'."_

"She's an antihero in Marvel. She controls people with just a few words. Kinda like subtle manipulation." I explained, hoping none of these girls were nerds who checked Marvel facts online. "But how did-"

" _Dummy parents."_

My jaw dropped. "So when those guys kick in, it's actually VO?!"

" _According to you, yes."_ River said.

It clicked. "Of course! Crossovers! Basically transferring the character from one world onto the next, assimilating her powers!" I almost groaned.

"Who are you talking to?" Caroline asked.

I looked over at her. They were all giving me a confused look.

"I'm a fangirl." I admitted. "Me and this girl, Mels, are role playing. I'm pretending to be an almost two hundred year old alien, and she's pretending to be a super soldier engineered to kill her husband."

My friends blinked.

" _Have I ever mentioned how much I hate it when you talk like that?"_ River asked.

"Once or twice." I muttered into the phone. I looked back at Caroline. "We get really into it."

"Why kill her husband?" Anna asked.

"Because if she doesn't kill him, then all of reality will fall apart." I explained, simply.

"Why would reality fall apart?" Maddie asked.

"Because...of reasons. Can I please just gave my conversation in peace?" I asked, annoyed at them already.

She held up her hands, sipping her soda.

"I thought you didn't have friends." Becca pointed out.

I almost wanted to strangle her. "Mels isn't my friend." I snapped. "She feels more like a sister." _'Kinda reminds me of mine.'_

" _Stop it, you make me blush."_ The Doctor's wife said.

"Not on your life." I remarked. "Now. Letter. Go on."

" _Right."_ More page turning. _"The letter says you'll use something you had in Torchwood to fix the changeling wedding."_

I nodded, trying to figure it out. "With Toria, Emily used her abilities to take out the boss. What did she have with her? The Big Bad Wolf. Bad Wolf. She had Rose. Rose...Rose...Rose..."

I blinked. "Of course. With Toria, I felt another character was there!"

" _Which one?"_

"Ruby." I answered. "She had a clone. Or, is gonna have a clone. Need to watch season two later." I commented. "Anyway. Guess what she could control?"

" _People?"_ River asked.

I was so excited. Future Me was a genius. "Haven't you learned?"

" _Learned what?"_ River asked.

"Spoilers, Melody!" I laughed, ending the phone call.

I had a Plan!

==DMLB==

River stared at the phone in her hands. Terra had told her this phone call was very important. It was crucial in making her the Terra she knew.

She knew what a changeling was. Of course she did. Terra had told her about that wedding. How much her life changed because of it. How much River Song's future depended on the wedding going exactly the way it did.

"Hello, sweetheart."

River looked over, seeing Her Terra. "Sweetheart? I thought you didn't want a pet name." River teased.

Terra smirked. "Please. You know I survive off of insulting nicknames."

"Of course...Razzle Dazzle." River grinned.

Terra groaned, walking up to the bars. She shook her head, pressing her temple. "How Lilac heard about that, I will never know."

River laughed. It was so much fun making Terra just the slightest bit embarrassed.

"So, the phone call went well?" Terra asked, changing topics.

"Exactly like you said it would." River said. She got up off her bed, going to the bars. "What could Ruby control?"

Terra's hand dropped. Her smirk came back, framed quite nicely in her raspberry pink lipstick. "Spoilers, Melody."

River frowned. "You can tell me."

Terra tsked. "Come now, Pond. I taught you better." She started skipping away.

River decided Terra wasn't going to win this conversation. "Terra?"

The black haired woman turned to her.

"Your lipstick is smeared again."

Terra's eyes widened. She reached up to her lips, wiping away the smudge. A blush came to her fair skin. She marched away, grumbling.

River laughed, sitting back in her bed. Far too easy.


	30. Halloween Pony Style

"Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!"

Yep. The Nightmare Night Festival was fully underway. I had waited about two weeks for this. Time in cartoons is beyond fucked up. It was Christmas, in Equestria, and we were just now doing Halloween.

It made my head hurt too much if I thought about it. I just went along with the Cartoon Time Line.

This year, I had opted to dress like the Mad Hatter. What can I say? I love his top hat. I managed to put the whole thing together soon after Twilight's mega-freak out.

Oh. Now that was a tail and a half (Pony pun!). At first, I planned to be a bitch. Then, I saw the look in Twilight's purple eyes. I had _felt_ that level of terror more times than I could count. That fear where everything is just going to be drop kicked out of your life because you failed.

So, I tried to give her advice. I told her to relax, and that sometimes winning is losing, and losing is winning. She looked at me like I was just another disturbance in her life. She ran off. She even admitted it, under her breath.

I immediately went to Lilac. I wrote a letter to send to Princess Celestia, begging her to come to Ponyville. That Twilight was falling apart, and Celestia was the only pony Twilight would listen to.

Lilac was in the park with the Crusaders when I found her. Twilight would show up any second, ready to make things crazy.

The white alicorn arrived just as the episode said. She took Twilight to the library, and I followed after them. I listened in, hearing as the Mane Six panicked over Twilight leaving. Then, somepony asked who told Celestia to come.

That was when I walked in. I told everypony I sent the letter to Princess Celestia. I told her Twilight was having a panic attack over being tardy, and needed help. I told them that I understood the pain of a panic attack, and how much pain Twilight was in from this whole thing.

Apparently, none of them expected this as the answer. Then, Rainbow Dash had to ask where I was when Discord was around.

I answered simply. _"I was having a panic attack, wondering if my daughter was okay in Canterlot."_

Speaking of.

Lilac was next to me, dressed as Alice. I had told her the story of the little blonde filly after Discord, and she fell in love with it. So, obviously, I had to find her the outfit. A pale blue dress, with a large black bow, and a white apron. On her shoulder, was a stuffed bunny with a fake golden watch. She looked so darn adorable!

Lilac and I were using teapots as candy pickets, going full on with the _Alice in Wonderland_ theme. We had them mostly filled, but then I used a _little_ spell I may or may not have _borrowed_ from a witch princess to make them bigger on the inside.

That spells work wonders, I swear.

Of course, it took a while to get the spell right. I've been focusing on that power, the one River Song told me about. It was mostly just a bunch of meditation, trying to focus on the power from Frederica Rose (one of my other Jumps) to help with my Plan. I knew I was going to be in River's past, and I knew that she knew not to mess with a message from Future Me to Present Me.

So, that meant Future Me had already done this. That meant I succeeded. Many think this is a wrong train of thought, that I had already succeeded and thus didn't really need to put forth much effort. Wrong. I see it as saying 'I did it because I worked hard, now it's time to work hard'. Hopefully, I'll figure it all out.

"Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of... Nightmare Moon!"

Lilac shivered next to me. I wrapped a good over her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. To control your fear, you must embrace your fear."

Lilac nodded. "Rule 40?"

I smiled. Lilac got a handle of the Rules much faster than my sister did. "Exactly."

Mayor Mare gave the stage to Zecora, who was dressed up in a very Halloween themed outfit. All while appearing in green smoke. Golly gee, I love this holiday.

Zecora smiled at the crowd. It was sinister enough for the story, but kind enough so nopony was scared. "Follow me, and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon."

Before I knew it, all the foals (plus Twilight and Spike) followed Zecora to a safe spot in the Everfree Forest. It was in front of a Nightmare Moon statue.

Zecora stood next to the statue. "Listen close, my little dears, I'll tell you where you got your fears of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary."

She pulled out some green dust. Blowing it, the dust formed into Nightmare Moon. "Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary."

The dust dive at the foals, making them gasp as it became a fog. Lilac gripped onto my forehoof.

"Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes." Zecora explained.

Two foals screamed, all in good fun.

"But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!"

Pinkie and Pipsqueak screamed.

Lilac clung tighter to my forehoof.

"Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!"

I didn't see what she was doing, because I was brushing her scales.

Pipsqueak came forward. "Uh, Miss Zecora, if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy?"

"A brilliant question, my little friend." I interrupted the story. Zecora looked at me, giving a faint smile. She was used to my interruptions. I walked up to Pipsqueak, patting his back. "For Nightmare Moon, you must not offend."

Zecora pulled out more dust. "Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!"

The dust cloud attacked the foals again.

Pinkie clucked. "Everypony! Just dump some candy and get out of here!"

I laughed, almost shaking my head. I pulled out some of my candy (mostly the caramels that always got stuck in my teeth and the jawbreakers. Oh, and the pony version of snickers, Mike and Ike, and some jelly beans.

Then, Lune showed up.

"It's Nightmare Moon! Run!" Pinkie clucked.

Would it surprising that I was expecting an egg after she clucked in terror?

==DMLB==

The walk back to Ponyville certainly was fun. Especially since I was maybe a tiny bit startled by the jump scare of Lune's arrival.

Lilac was on my back, clinging to my costume.

"Rule 40." I reminded her.

This calmed her, just a tiny bit. She was just shaking now. Using my magic, I pulled her to ground. I held her with my hood. "Lilac, honey, it's just Princess Luna. You know that."

Lilac gulped. "Yeah, but she's still scary."

I nodded. "So was your aunt, but we got used to her."

"Citizens of Ponyville!"

I flinched. Damn, that was loud.

"We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you might behold the real Princess of the Night!" Luna announced. "A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!"

Thunder and lightning, very very frightening.

"Did you hear that, everypony?" Pinkie Pie cried out. "Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!"

Oh. I get it. She's scared of everything, because she's dressed like a chicken! Wow, I'm stupid.

Everypony screamed. Lilac held me a bit tighter.

Princess Luna gaped at the screaming crowd. "What? No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!" She stomped her hoof. "Madame Mayor, thy Princess of the Night hath arrived."

I couldn't help the chuckle that came out when Mayor Mare flinched away from the hoof.

"What is the matter with you?" If I had a nickel every time someone asked me that. "Very well, then. Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell."

"I would actually like to see that." I announced walking towards the Night Princess.

Luna looked at me, and a ghost of a smile came to her face.

"Was that a smile?" I asked.

The smile was gone. "Nay."

"Princess Luna, I think that was a smile." I teased, walking through the crowd to get to her. I held my hoof out. Luna looked down at it. "Luna, hoof bump. We've talked about this."

Luna looked down at her hoof, then mine. She bumped her's to mine. I smirked.

"Finally. Your time with me has been paying off." I laughed.

Twilight sputtered next to me. "Raspberry?! You know Princess Luna?"

"I call her Lune." I smiled, nodding. "She really doesn't like it."

"We do not approve of such a ridiculous name." Princess Luna said.

"Oh, Lune, please. You know you love it." I smirked. I showed off my costume. "Hey, remember this? I had it made for tonight. I thought it was funny." I held up the teapot. "And, I made this teapot a basket."

I could make out the hints of a grin on the corner of Luna's muzzle. "Thou dost love thy top hats."

"Lune, speak Equestrian please." I commented. Luna just gave me a stare. I rolled my eyes. "Must thou always rain on my parade?"

"There is no parade." Luna commented.

I chuckled dryly. "Oh, hahaha. Always so serious. I thought we had made some real progress on making you less."

"You've been working with Princess Luna?"

"In my dreams." I commented, smiling innocently. Twilight gave me a look like I had just said checklists were stupid. "Luna, come on! I have a thing I want to show you!"

The Princess looked hesitant.

"Come on, Lune, have I ever steered you wrong?" I asked her, galloping in the direction of the Nightmare Moon statue before she could give me an answer.

==DMLB==

"Knew you would come after me."

I was sitting in front of the statue, Lilac next to me. We were digging into our candy. I had given Lilac some sapphire gems that Diamond Dogs brought to me. Apparently taking down the Beta's made you some kind of Honorary Member, and the sapphires were my part of the Hoard. Don't ask about how I did that.

Princess Luna trotted up to my side, coming down on her haunches. She stared at the statue, looking crestfallen.

"How did you know?"

I smirked at her, taking a quick bite of a chocolate bar. "Easy. Cause I would've come after you."

This surprised the Princess of the Night. "Truly?"

I nodded. "You're my friend. True friends don't care who you are on the outside, they care about who you are on the inside."

"Mommy taught me that!" Lilac cheered.

Luna smiled (a genuine one, I could tell) at us. "Well, tis truly an enlightening lesson to be taught."

"Learned that first hoof." I said, holding up a hoof. "I have only just begun to understand it."

"Princess Luna?" A voice called out from behind us. "Hi, my name is-"

"Star Swirl the Bearded." Luna pointed out. "Commendable costume! Thou even got the bells right."

Twilight looked like somepony had just said they like schedules. "Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume!"

The night alicorn frowned, looking back to the statue.

"Uh, I just came to welcome you to our celebration! My actual name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle." Luna interrupted. I put earmuffs over Lilac's fins and my ears. "It was thou who unleashed the powers of harmony upon us and took away our dark powers!" She said in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

I took off the ear muffs.

"And that was a good thing, right?" Twilight asked.

"But of course. We could not be happier. Is that not clear?" Luna asked.

"Well, you kinda sound like you're yelling at me." Twilight commented.

"Unfortunate habit." I said. "My voice gets louder when I'm excited."

"Mine doesn't." Lilac admitted, frowning. "Sweetie Belle's does."

Luna scoffed. "But this is the traditional royal Canterlot voice! It is tradition to speak using the royal 'we', and to use-" Earmuffs "-this much volume when addressing our subjects!"

"Lune, take from me, ponies do not like it when you come into a place screaming. Kuzco taught me that." I explained to her, wrapping a goof around her neck. "You just need to change your approach?"

Luna glared at me, then my earmuffs. "Why art thou wearing earmuffs?"

"The Canterlot Voice." I admitted. "Lilac's got 'um too. A voice that loud could harm her eardrums." I shook my head. "Sorry, Lune. Mother first, friend second. You just gotta lower the volume."

"Ohhh. We have been locked away for a thousand years. We are... not sure we can." Luna admitted, nervously glancing down.

I cheered. "Admitting you have a problem is the first step!"

"And the second?" Luna asked.

I paused, then frowned. "Never got that far into the program, to be honest."

==DMLB==

The night went on as normal. Most of it, Lilac and I spent going from house to house to get more candy. I Barry remembered what was going on until I heard Princess Luna ban Nightmare Night.

I was the one who told Twilight about a brilliant plan to get ponies on Luna's side.

Much later, Zecora and I were guiding the foals back to the Nightmare Moon statue. None of them noticed it was much more lifelike than before.

The foals poured more candy in front of the statue. They all looked so sad.

"Goodbye, Nightmare Night." Pipsqueak whispered. "Forever."

The wind picked up.

" **Citizens of Ponyville!"** Luna yelled, wearing a Nightmare Moon disguise. I'm surprised she was able to do that with the false teeth. **"You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering. So pleased that I may just eat it... instead of eating you!"**

I giggled.

The foals screamed, running to hide in the bushes. Lilac was clinging to my jacket.

Luna stepped down from the pedestal. She took out the pointy teeth. "I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Raspberry Stardust."

"Just wait." I smiled knowingly.

Luna scoffed. "For what? For... for them to scream some more?"

Pipsqueak pulled on Luna's flowing mane. "Um... Princess Luna?"

I walked over towards Twilight. The two of us just watched.

"I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?" Pipsqueak asked.

Luna was very confused. "Child. Art thou saying that thou... _likest_ me to scare you?"

Pipsqueak grinned. "It's really fun! Scary, but fun!"

"It... is?"

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year."

Princess Luna smiled. "Well then. We shall have to bring **Nightmare Night back**!"

"Whoa! You're my favorite princess ever!" Pipsqueak ran over to his friends. "She said yes, guys!"

The foals all cheered. Luna looked so happy.

"See? They really do like you, princess." Twilight said.

Princess Luna was reeling from finding out ponies liked her. "Can it be true?" She flew up. **"Oh, most wonderful of-"** Luna cleared her throat. "I mean... Oh, most wonderful of nights."

==DMLB==

" _Tonight, I'll make it your pick." I said. "All of time and space, where do you wanna go?"_

 _Luna gave me a smile. "Could...could we simply look up at stars, on this night?"_

 _I smiled. The landscape changed, to one I had become familiar with. There was a garden, with a simple picnic blanket laid out on the grass. The perfect place to see the stars._

" _Happy Birthday, Lune." I said, showing off the stars._


	31. Pink Pony Princess Day

Canterlot was a beautiful city, I will admit. The architecture, the smooth concrete streets, the stores, and the other cool looking shit. I had a to-do list before the Wedding, and I had to get my shit together by then.

Lilac was in school. It was a Saturday, and Lilac was going to a sleepover at Scootaloo's (knew she had parents).

"I came here to see Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." I told the guards.

They laughed, apparently my request was amusing. "What is your purpose here?"

"That's the same question I ask myself everything morning when I get up." I joked. They didn't get it. "Seriously. I'm here to see Cadence. Or Mia. I'm still on the fence about that."

"You can let her pass." A third voice said.

The two guards turned towards it. A familiar white unicorn dressed in gold and purple armor stood behind them.

"Shiney Hiney!" I cheered loudly

The white unicorn let out a mirthless chuckle. "You can let her in, boys. She's no harm."

Don't joke around the guards. Don't joke around the guards.

I trotted past them, walking beside Twilight's older brother.

Shining grinned at me. "Princess Cadence received your letter."

I grinned. "Dropping in unannounced is usually my specialty, but I thought it better to at least try and be reasonable."

"So, a letter appearing over Princess Cadence's head is your idea of reasonable?" Shining asked.

"Yes." I responded, smiling.

He looked like he was going to argue. "You are actually lucky. Today, she has very little scheduled."

"Wedding planning?" I asked, knowingly.

The Captain of the Guard stopped. "How did you know I proposed?" Shining asked.

I smirked. "I was teasing. You just proved me right." I said in a sing-song voice.

Then, I saw the alicorn down the hall. "Mia!" I called out, trotting towards the pink alicorn.

"Hello Miss Stardust." The princess smiled gently.

"No, no. Miss Stardust makes me feel old. Call me Razz." I suggested. "That's what my friends call me."

The mare smiled. "I'm honored to be your friend."

"I know, right?" I joked.

==DMLB==

 _Princess Cadence_

"So what brings you here to Canterlot today?" I asked Raspberry, pouring her a glass of tea.

The unicorn grinned, accepting the tea. "I wanted to hang out. I realized we hadn't really gotten together since the Gala, so I had to come up here to see you. I thought we could do that bonding thing friends are known for."

I smiled. "Well, I would certainly love to help with that."

We had come to one of my sitting rooms, simply for having tea and pleasant conversation. It was a white room, with light pink furniture. The tea table was metal, with a glass table.

"So, how are things down in Ponyville?" I asked her, putting a bit of sugar in my tea and taking a sip.

"Well, after Princess Luna's visit, it was Fluttershy's birthday. I gave her a new bird feeder and bird seed, since I knew she wouldn't want something for herself but for her animals." Raspberry said, adding sugar to her tea. She gained a far off look in her amber eyes. "The Sisterhoof Social came a few weeks later."

I smiled. "Oh? Did you and Killjoy compete?"

Raspberry put her tea down. "KJ died." Raspberry said. "A few days after we met you, actually."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

The pink unicorn gave a sad laugh. "KJ was a daredevil. _'Not alive until I'm almost dead'_ she would say." She looked quizzically at her tea. "So, she wanted to try a new stunt. It didn't work."

The way she was saying it was heartbreaking. It was the same way one would explain an outing, or talking about the weather. Like she had to explain her sister's departure so plainly.

It was tragic.

"But, ya know, then I came back to Ponyville-"

"You were with her?" I asked, even sadder.

Raspberry just looked up at me. "She was always trying to make her big sister proud." She picked up her tea. "Ah. That's enough sugar." She took a sip. "Mmm. Good tea."

"Rasp-"

"Then my daughter's friend tried a shortcut to getting her cutiemark." Raspberry interrupted me. "Used a Heart's Desire flower, but gave herself the Cutie Pox."

I frowned. "The Cutie Pox? Is she alright?"

"Yeah. Zecora made a cure, it required Apple Bloom telling the truth about why she took the Heart's Desire. The Crusaders- that's what Lilac and her friends call themselves- learned it was better to wait, waited two seconds, then went off to get another cutiemark."

That was when I realized. She was hiding her grief for her daughter's sake. I had seen a few other times, with single parents. The foal needed their parent, just as much as the parent needed the foal.

"Right now, Rainbow is trying to decide what pet is cooler. I bet her twenty bits that it would be a tortoise." Raspberry chuckled. "Everypony has to learn eventually."

I was still at a loss over Killjoy. She seemed like a good mare. She was so in love with her sister, and looked up to her in the way all younger siblings did.

Killjoy and I may have known each other for five minutes, but they were enough to show me she loved her sister. And, that her sister loved her.

"Learn what?" I asked.

"Never make a bet with Raspberry." The unicorn joked. "I never guess. Rule Five."

"Rules?" I said.

"I feel like I'm the only one talking." Raspberry commented. "How's the wedding planning coming?"

I smiled, then sighed. "Oh, it could be going better. Shining and I just haven't found the perfect caterer."

"Applejack." Raspberry said suddenly.

"The Element of Honesty?" I asked. "You think she could cater?"

"She made things for the Gala." Raspberry said. "She could be in charge of food. She makes a mean Apple...anything."

I smiled. "That's genius! I could ask the other Bearers if they wanted to help!"

Raspberry nodded. "Yeah. Fluttershy had her birds sing at the Summer Sun Celebration, so they could perform the Wedding March." The unicorn sipped her tea. "Pinkie is good at parties, so she could plan the reception. Rarity is obviously going to make the wedding dress, and probably the bridesmaids dresses too."

I blinked. "Did you just plan my wedding in less than a minute?"

"I'm good with plans." Was Raspberry's answer. "And, Rainbow can perform a Sonic Rainboom after you say your 'I do's. Twilight can help make sure everything goes to schedule."

"That was incredible!" I cheered.

Raspberry shrugged. "Making sure things go to plan is my special talent." She looked around the room. "This room is too boring." Raspberry decreed.

My muzzle dropped.

Her horn glowed amber.

I watched as the room changed. The walls changed from white to a dark blue. The couches we were lying on changed shape to become dark red triclinia. The coffee table turned into a table made of dark brown furnishing.

The carpet beneath us became deep brown. The windows gained deep red curtains, pulled back to let sunlight in.

I gaped at Raspberry, who had just opened her eyes. "Much better. Way too much pink last time."

"How did you do that?" I asked, gazing at Raspberry's slowly rising form.

The pink unicorn grinned. "I learned it years ago. An old acquaintance taught me." I raised a brow. "Okay. I listened in on her conversation with somepony else, but I still learned it." She said, walking over to a blue rug that hadn't been in the room before.

Taking another look around the room. "This is incredible."

"Not the coolest thing I've ever done..." Raspberry said, trying to sound boastful.

I trotted up to the amber eyed unicorn. "Teach me!"

Raspberry lifted a hoof, giving me a wary look. "Take is easy, Twilight." She laughed. "I can teach you, but it's kinda difficult."

"I can handle it." I said, trying to copy her boastful tone.

She raised a brow, smirking. "Alright." She motioned to the ground. "Sit criss cross."

I blinked. "What?"

"Like this."

Raspberry fell onto her haunches, bending her hindlegs so they went over each other. She motioned to the space right before her. "Now you."

Unsure, I began copying her movement. It took me a moment, but I finally managed to do so. "It's...uncomfortable."

"Well, when I learned it this was the position they did it in." Raspberry admitted. "Don't worry. After a few times with this, you learn how to do it standing. It's super easy after a while.

"For now, you need to sit hooves up, like you're meditating. It's kind of like opening yourself up to the power all around you. Feel the energy of the room?"

I nodded. I did feel it. A hum deep below the surface of the air.

"Imagine that energy is entering your body through your hooves and your eyes and your mouth and your ears. Just close your eyes and let it fill you up."

I nodded once again. Taking a deep breath as I felt around the room.

"Focus on your breathing and draw the energy from every item in the room."

After a few moments of breathing and concentration, I felt the light flow into me again. I let the breath come in through my nose and out again, filling my chest and my soul.

"Think about the rug beneath us. Feel it under your hindlegs and in connection with your body. Imagine it as clearly as you can. Got it?"

"Yes." I said.

"Now imagine the rug a different color. Any color you want." Raspberry suggested.

I did.

"Somepony's in love." Raspberry joked at my choice in coloring.

"Lots of ponies are white. Auntie is white. This could be for her and Auntie Luna." I defended. "Or, anypony."

"But only one has these blue streaks in his mane." The pink unicorn giggled.

"Oh, stop it." I joined in on her giggling.

Then, the room changed back to it's original. The pink furniture, the metal and glass table, no curtains, and white walls. The rug was still there, the one colored like Shining Armor.

"It lasts for as long as you can make it last." Raspberry explained. "Larger stationary objects take up more energy, so be careful. It was freakin' hard to change that couch's shape. You could probably do the same with your hair and eyes, but I never learned how to do that properly. Then again, I never do things properly."

"Huh?" I said, meeting her eyes. "Gah!"

The unicorn was now a different color than the last time I saw her. Her coat was neon blue, with her mane an inky black, and her cutiemark was off a microphone with sound waves coming off. Her eyes were still amber, and there was still a horn on her head.

"H-how..."

"The Glamour." The neon blue unicorn spoke with my friend's voice. "We can change the outward appearance, but the horn had to stay."

"And...why not your eyes...?" I asked.

Raspberry smacked her hoof on the ground. "Well, I guess the best explanation is that my magic is still amber. Unicorn's magic is either based off their eye color or a color on their cutie mark. Like, your eyes are purple but your magic is blue." Raspberry explained. "It's because your cutie mark is blue. The same applies to Celestia and Twilight. Their magic is gold and pink, in accordance with the prophecy. But their eyes are pink and purple, in accordance with the prophecy."

I blinked. A question came to me. "You learned this magic by listening in to a conversation?"

Raspberry nodded. Her colors returning to normal. "It was a very good conversation." She said, nervously.

I raised a brow.

"That's my answer and I'm sticking to it." The unicorn defended.

I laughed. "This only leaves one more thing to do to prove us friends."

Raspberry gave me a wary look.

"Shopping!" I cheered.

Raspberry groaned, playfully. "I forgot that normal females like shopping."


	32. The Return Of Voice Over

Sugarcube Corner was a mess of activity. Lilac had ended up signing up for the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, so of course she had a front row seat in the speech Rainbow was giving.

I had purchased a chocolate cupcake, standing with Twilight and Pinkie.

"And then I zoomed into the well. I knew it would be dark and dangerous, but I didn't let that stop me. Danger's my middle name. Rainbow 'Danger' Dash. Thinking back on it, I acted pretty awesomely heroic that day."

"That day." Spike mumbled, writing it down.

"Awesomely heroic that day and awesomely arrogant ever since." Applejack commented.

"Mm-hm." Twilight, Pinkie, and i agreed.

Rainbow came over, wrapping a good over Applejack. "Hey, Applejack. How'd you like to be immortalized as my friend?"

"Immorta-what?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow grinned at the camera. There was a bright flash.

Twilight finally noticed Spike. He was like a dragon version of Mickey. I would love it if he became a dog.

"Are you taking notes?" Twilight asked.

Spike grinned. "Yup! I've been hoof-picked by Rainbow Dash herself, to write her autobiography!" Spike cheered.

Twilight rose a brow. "Umm, autobiographies are supposed to be written by the pony they are about."

"Maybe for your normal, run-of-the-mill ponies." Rainbow boasted. "But I'm far too busy saving lives to stop and write. That's why I hired Spike as my ghost writer."

Pinkie yelped. "Spike's a ghost!"

A pause.

"...anyway. Spike here writes down everything I say. Don't you, Spike?" Rainbow asked.

Spike scribbled it down. "Don't... you... Spike. Got it!"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "This way, I can stay focused on performing those acts of bravery that nopony else has the guts to perform. Yep, it takes guts. But it also takes brains. And sometimes a big lunch and a nap. Being a hero is surely not for everypony, but I'm up to the challenge."

Then, she went back to her crowd.

"Get the girls." Twilight said. "We need to go to the library and talk."

=DMLB=

I sat by the kitchen door, watching them all debate over the best course of action.

Finally, ten minutes after they gathered, Twilight came up with the idea. "What if another superhero came to Ponyville?"

"What good would that do?" Applejack asked.

"Oh!" Rarity cheered. "One who could 'steal Rainbow's Thunder' as it were!"

"Exactly!" Twilight said.

"What superhero?" Pinkie asked. "Cause there are a lot of superheroes out there. I have a lot of their comic books!"

"Oh, I could help." I said.

"Gah!" The others suddenly yelled.

"Gah!" I cried out. "What?!"

"How did you get there?!" Twilight yelled at me, still shocked.

My head titled. "I've been here the whole time."

Pinkie glared into my eyes. "How did you break in?"

"It's a library." I reminded. "I just walked in."

Pinkie smiled, her eyes no longer glaring. "Oh! That makes sense."

"What kinda _'help'_?" Applejack asked, bringing up my first statement.

"I know a superhero who could help. She's really good at helping." I said. "They call her Voice Over, and she's good at making ponies see what they need to."

=DMLB=

"Uh, don't you think you should go and help?" Snips asked.

Rainbow Dash signed another photo. "Yeah, yeah. I've got a good ten seconds to spare. Just a couple more."

Spike continued to write on the pad. "The tension is unbearable. Will Rainbow Dash make it on time?"

Rainbow signed one more photo.

A mare flew by. The mane's of everypony was stuck up. She paused, as if looking for the danger.

With a shake of her head, Rainbow looked in the direction of the flying mare.

Her coat was teal blue. Her mane was raven wing black, tied back into a braid. She was wearing a purple and silver suit, that had a silver mask around her yellow eyes. There was also a blue horn on her head.

Yet, somehow, she was flying.

She winked at Rainbow Dash, flying to the falling hot air balloon.

"Holy turnips, that pony came outta nowhere!"

"I've never seen such bravery in all my life!"

Rainbow Dash scoffed. Who did that mare think she was?

The mare grabbed Cherry Berry, bringing her back down to earth long before it crashed. Then, she went back up for the balloon. She grabbed it with her magic, covering it with a yellow glow. She brought it down carefully.

The crowd left Rainbow Dash, running up to the blue mare.

"Wow! You were amazing!" One mare cheered.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" A stallion cheered.

The mare just smiled. "Well, thank you. I do my best."

"Who are you?" A little filly asked.

She smirked, rising an inch off the ground. "My name is Voice Over." The flying unicorn announced. "You'll be seeing me again."

She flew off.

Mayor Mare came out from the crowd. "That's right! Ponyville has a new hero. Let's all cheer for Voice Over!"

All of Ponyville cheered.

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Voice Over, huh? Well that mare would do well to stay outta my way! Ponyville's only got room for one hero, and that hero is me!"

What she didn't see, was Voice Over standing off to the side. A knowing smile on her face.

=DMLB=

The cart was about to crash!

Rainbow cleared her throat. "Never fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow-"

"Excuse me, uh, do you think you could skip your catchphrase and just hurry up and save us?!" A stallion pointed out.

Rainbow rolled her pink eyes. "Ugh, fine! Picky, picky." She flew to the front of the cart.

The force was too strong, and it flung her back. "Whoa! Aah!"

"Outta the way! Voice Over coming through!" A voice yelled.

The blue flying unicorn dashed past Rainbow. She flew to the cliff base, putting her hooves down firmly on the ground.

She opened her muzzle. "Ahh!" She sang.

Rainbow watched. She could practically see the sound waves from Voice Over's voice hit the cart.

"AHHH!" Voice Over shouted.

The waves brought the cart to a stop, long before it reached the mare.

The ponies came out, cheering.

"Oh, thank you, Voice Over!" A stallion cheered.

The unicorn grinned. "Manipulating air waves to act as a cushion by using sound waves? Got that my first day. Using sound is my super power." Voice Over explained before flying away.

"I can't believe it." Rainbow muttered, walking away. "Voice Over can manipulate air waves? She wasn't even using magic!" The pegasus muttered. "Like a pegasus. But she was a unicorn!"

Rainbow grunted in annoyance. She ran her hooves through her mane. "Well, she's gonna learn the hard way that I'm the only hero Ponyville needs."

Voice Over was off to the side. She frowned, shaking her head. "Come on, Dash, remember why you started being a hero."

=DMLB=

The unfinished building was falling apart.

Rainbow flew over. "Huh? Never fear, your friendly neighbor-Whoa!"

She had to save these ponies. That would show Ponyville who the real hero was! Rainbow Danger Dash! The fastest pegasus in Equestria! Not some poser with a weird name.

' _Plus, what kind of name was Voice Over anyway?'_ Dash thought. _'A stupid one, that's what.'_

Rainbow tried to help a construction mare. "Never fear- Uh! I'm coming! Hold on! Whoa!"

Dash avoided random building parts. The building was coming down fast!

"Look!" A stallion yelled.

Rainbow had one thought. _'Please don't be Voice Over.'_

"Coming through!"

' _Celestia dammit.'_

Voice Over flew past Rainbow. She gave a quick survey of the building, then darted off to find other ponies. "Rainbow Dash, I'm going to work on the building, you get as many ponies as you can out of here!"

Rainbow didn't know why, but she listened. Maybe it was Voice Over's tone, or the chance at glory. Didn't matter, as long as they thought she was the hero and not Voice Over.

Dash grabbed a stallion neat crushed by bricks, and flew him to safety. She grabbed another stallion and dragged him to safety. Then a mare and another stallion.

In a show of arrogance, Dash turned to brag at Voice Over. Her jaw dropped.

Voice Over's horn was glowing bright amber. It was holding any piece of debris that fell, and putting it on the ground. She even started taking some pieces off. It looked like she was playing Jenga by herself, if you thought about it.

Once the whole building finally collapsed, she flew over to the construction ponies.

"Are you ponies alright?" Voice Over asked.

They all smiled and nodded. "Yes! Thank you Voice Over!"

"Hey, I was the one that saved you all!" Dash argued.

One stallion scoffed. "Yeah, but it was Voice Over that told you to."

Dash glared at the blue unicorn. "Yeah. How did you do that anyway?"

Voice Over shrugged. "My super power isn't just sound waves. Some call it post hypnotic suggestion."

Dash reeled back. "So wait. You _hypnotized me_?!"

"Yes, and no." Voice Over said. "I simply planted the suggestion inside your head, and then you did it. It's like when you go into a room, but forget why."

Dash gaped.

"Sorry about your building." Voice Over said, changing topics.

The construction mare came forward. "It's no trouble! Thank you for keeping it from falling on us!"

The flying unicorn shrugged. "Used to do this all the time in my early heroing days. Dang, we liked breaking buildings." She chuckled. "Hey, do you mind if I take the scrap? I need it for a thing later."

"Sure!" A stallion said. "Anything for the mare that saved our lives!"

Voice Over gave a smile, lifting up the broken bits of wood, steel and stuff in her magic. "Well then, I should get going. Stay safe!"

With that Voice Over flew away. The construction crew chased after her, cheering praises.

Dash ground her teeth. "She can fly, she's magic, and she can control ponies with her voice?!" She huffed. "Doesn't matter. I can still beat her. I can still be the town hero!"

Voice Over, having escaped the cheering conscription crew, just listened to this with a sad heart.

=DMLB=

You know in cartoons, when the put a finger/appendage on a crack, and then it get bigger? Rainbow had seen some of those in comic books (the only type of book she even thought about opening) growing up. She didn't think that actually happened.

That is, until she tried fixing the one on the Ponyville Dam.

"My game is officially back on. If only somepony were here to pat me on the back." Dash didn't notice it get bigger. She looked around, and shrugged. "Eh, guess I'll have do it myself." She patted herself on the back.

Then the dam burst.

"Help!" Rainbow cried out. "Help!"

"You rang?"

Suddenly, Dash collided with a large log. Dash looked up, seeing Voice Over holding out a log.

"You?!" Dash gaped, her face contorted in disgust. "I suppose you want me to thank you."

"No thanks needed." Voice Over said. "I don't do this for the thanks."

Then, all of the wreckage from the construction site came up. Voice Over used it all to close off the dam. She also used her magic to seal it all together.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Dash muttered, shaking off water.

"I don't do this for favors." Voice Over went on. Dash turned to her in annoyance. "I don't do it so ponies like me."

A crowd gathered by the newly repaired dam. They started cheering. Voice Over looked at them, giving a kind smile.

"I do this, because if I don't, who will?"

"I did!" Dash argued. "I was the hero of Ponyville long before you were!"

"You got cocky." Voice Over snapped. She sighed. "You know what? I don't even have time to scold you. I have to get going."

She flew up. Dash flew up after her.

"No way!" Dash snapped. "Hold on! Scold me? Why do you need to scold me?"

"Because all this fame has gone to your head." Voice Over snapped, flying off in the direction of Ponyville.

Dash growled. Voice Over thought she was so good. That Dash was somehow a bad guy. That Dash was like a little kid, who needed a scolding.

Dash was a hero! She would show everypony that the only hero in town was her!

=DMLB=

"Fine! Laugh all you want, but I'll be the one laughing when I prove to you all that I'm just as good-no, that I'm a better hero than Voice Over!"

Dash flew out of Sugarcube Corner.

I sighed. "Teal, you can come out."

"Okay."

A mare walked out from the shadows of Sugarcube Corner. She wore a dark grey hoodie, and dark blue sunglasses. You could see her tail (black and curly) and her cutiemark (a megaphone).

Voice Over, or her pony name, Mega Telephone. Teal for short.

She smiled at everypony. "Okay. I've actually heard worse about me. I feel great right now."

I rolled my eyes, giggling. "Teal, I have known you for your whole life, and I still don't get half of what you say."

"Rule 10." Teal responded with. _'It's okay if you don't understand her. Her own sister doesn't understand her sometimes.'_

Twilight came forward. "Are you sure this was a good idea, Raspberry? I mean, Rainbow seemed a bit upset over this."

"Rainbow just needs to remember why she became a hero." I said.

"Most lose sight of it, and become the very thing they hope to avoid." Teal admitted. "I have seen that a couple of times. The things I heard thanks to my powers, I think Dash might be on the path towards that life."

"How did you get you super powers?" Pinkie asked. Teal blushed.

"Pinkie-" Applejack began.

"No. It's okay." Teal answered. She took off her sunglasses. "It was an accident. I was sailing with my dad, he loved that stuff. I ended up saving a merpony. She granted me a gift. A siren's gift. My ears worked better, and I had the ability to control ponies with my voice."

"Sorta like a narrator controls the story." I added. "It's a voice over."

"Then, Voice Over was born." Teal cheered, letting her hood down.

The two of us chuckled.

Pinkie squealed. "Merponies gave you your powers?"

"Mh-hmm." Teal nodded.

"Merponies are real?!"

"Who told you they weren't?" Teal countered.

I pointed at her with my hood. "I like that question. It's a good question."

=DMLB=

This was it. Dash was going to prove to everypony that she was a better hero. She was going to prove that Voice Over wasn't the mare everypony thought she was!

She arrived at the parade, ready to show up the so called hero. To prove Dash was better. Then, Voice Over ran away.

Dash growled. She chased after the flying unicorn. She heard an occasional whistle, seeing multiple Voice Over's running through the back alleys of Ponyville.

"What the hay?" Dash asked.

Voice Over whistled again.

"Grr..." Dash growled.

She leapt onto the unicorn, pinning her to the ground. Voice Over struggled against her, before relenting.

"I got you now!" Dash bragged. "Alright, Missy! Time to see who you really are!"

She ripped off the mask.

"Who are you?"

"Mega Telephone." She answered. "Everypony calls me Teal." Voice Over frowned. "Rainbow, why did you do this?"

"Do what? Take off your mask?" Dash scoffed. "I know who you are now. I can prove you aren't a real hero!"

"Why did you save that little fully in the well?" Voice Over asked. "Tell the truth."

Rainbow paused. "Because she needed help." She shook her head. "Wait. Did you use that freak mind power on me again?"

"Why did you save that foal?" Voice Over went on.

"Because she needed saving, and to get more glory." Rainbow answered. She growled. "Stop using that on me!"

"Why did you save those elderly ponies?" Voice Over asked.

"For the glory of being Ponyville's hero." Rainbow admitted. Her pink eyes widened.

"Why didn't you save that mare in the hot air balloon crash?"

"Because I was so caught up in being a hero, I forgot to actually be a hero." Rainbow sighed.

Voice Over smiled. "Can you get off of me?"

Rainbow did. "Was that your freaky power?"

"That was you being kind."

Rainbow blinked. She rubbed her mane nervously. "So, why were you in Ponyville anyway?"

"An old friend called me. She said her friends needed help." Voice Over looked behind Rainbow.

The blue speedster turned around, seeing Raspberry Stardust come forward.

Then, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.

Her friends.

"We all helped out on this." Raspberry said. "I came up with the plan."

Rarity squealed. "I made the costume. Fabulous if I do say so myself!"

"Thanks for that, by the way." Teal said. "I needed a new outfit anyway."

Rainbow frowned. "I don't understand. Why? Don't you want me to be a hero?"

Twilight came up next to Rainbow. "Of course we want you to be a hero."

Applejack came up the other side. "But a real hero doesn't brag."

Rainbow laughed nervously. "Uh, I guess I did start to brag a little."

"A little?!"

"Okay, a lot." Rainbow corrected.

"Celebrating your accomplishments is natural. But..." Twilight dragged off.

"...Rubbin' them in everypony's face is not." Applejack finished.

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah, the only thing that should be rubbed in anypony's face is chocolate cake." She threw a cake at her face, then ate it.

"I think we're getting off topic here." Applejack deadpanned.

Twilight nodded.

"What we're trying to say is." Raspberry said. "It's great to be really good at something, but it's important to act with grace and humility."

Rainbow made an ohh face. "Ohhhh. That makes loads more sense. Yeah. You're right. And I guess I should've also acted with grace and humility when others outshine me. Like Voice Over."

Teal blushed. "Wow. So glad Raspberry got me to come."

"How do you know Raspberry Stardust anyway?" Rainbow asked.

Teal and Raspberry exchanged looks. "We went to the same college."

" _You_ went to college?" Twilight asked, looking at Raspberry.

"Yeah!" Raspberry cheered. "I went, got my major in investigative thinking, earned a minor in psychology, and graduated."

"Wow." Twilight blinked, looking at Raspberry in muted shock. "That's...actually pretty impressive. What college did you go to?"

"South Harmon Institute of Technology." Teal answered.

"I was also a founding member."

"You _founded_ a college?" Applejack asked.

"Their mascot was a sandwich." Teal cheered.

"I took place in the newspaper, The Rag." Raspberry said. "I also taught the class _'Professional TV Watching'_."

"Many are injured each year due to Unprofessional TV watching." Teal joked. "Raspberry is a true professional, I have seen none professionally watch TV as well as her."

Raspberry laughed.

Twilight rolled her purple eyes. "Rainbow, it sounds like you should write a letter to the Princess."

Spike showed up, holding up a rolled up letter. "Already got it covered. As your ghost writer, I've already penned a letter to the Princess."

Rainbow patted Spike's back. "That's nice of you, Spike, but I really wanna write this letter myself."

The dragon frowned. "Aww, come on, I wrote the whole thing already!"

Everypony snickered. "Okay, let's hear it." Rainbow said.

Spike cleared his throat. "Dear Princess Cel-

Rainbow gasped. "Look out! It's a real ghost!"

Pinkie Pie and Spike screamed. They ran off. Everypony giggled.

=DMLB=

An hour later, I was standing with Teal in my living room. Her colors had faded back into my raspberry pink coat, blue and silver mane, and book cutiemark.

"Powers learned?" I asked my double.

"Duplication and Flight." Voice Over answered.

I nodded. "Ones still needed?"

Voice over thought it over. "71.43% of them."

I nodded. "Ready to come back?"

Voice Over rolled her amber eyes. "Boy, am I ever."

She vanished in a red cloud. It hovered over towards me, merging us back together.

I gasped, shaking my head. "Woah. Forgot what a head rush merging was. Can't wait to do that again."


	33. The Perfect Gift

"Mia, friendship emergency."

This was what I said when I ran into the palace that Monday afternoon. I had done my job, yelling the foals another story of my adventures with the Doctor.

Lilac was with me, since I knew my daughter wanted to meet another Princess. She was very excited about coming to Canterlot.

It had been three weeks since the Voice Over thing. So far, everything was good. Back home we were having the last few days of school before Winter Break. I was gonna try and make if so their Christmas and mine synced up, so that meant spending two weeks as Morgan Spencer.

Yeah, not looking forward to that. Morgan Spencer, not Christmas. I love Christmas. Second favorite holiday.

I was putting together everypony's gifts. Not gonna say who is getting what. Lilac's getting a thing, Care's getting something, my family, the Mane 6, Spike, the Princesses, Cheerilee, and the Wonderbolts(z?).

Oh yeah. I had a lot of shopping to do.

Twilight's birthday was tomorrow, and I had nothing to give her.

Mia gave me a curious look. During the past three weeks, I had been popping in every few days. The guards knew who I was, and that I was there to see Mia. Unless I was there after sunset, then it was Luna.

Her and I have actually been having some fun. At Night Court, I had been helping with some numbers. Did you guys know that Luna is in charge of the foals of Equestria? The Foster Care System is run by her. I had helped her work out the budget. Not the first time I helped a princess with a budget. (Princess Annalise still owes me a favor)

We also still have weekly meetings. Tuesday's are now my favorite day. Last week, I took her to see the North Pole with Scott Calvin as Santa. She thought it was hilarious, especially because I made Celestia play Scott. (If I had a bit every time Lune made a cake joke)

"What's the problem?" Mia asked, kindly. Man, she was really nice.

Lilac hopped off my back, gaping at the Princess. "Hi Princess."

The light pink alicorn looked down at my daughter. "Oh! You must be Lilac! Raspberry's said so much about you!"

Oh, yeah. I had become one of those mom's who brags about her kid's accomplishments. Lilac painted a mural of all the Crusaders yesterday on the side of the treehouse. 'The Fearsome Foursome' she tilted it. The four of them all doing the things they were good at, but hadn't figured out they were their special talents.

I wonder if Lilac knows her special talent. She can't get a cutiemark, but is it the same with dragons? Do dragons just do things without really thinking about if they're good at it or not? Did they just run about like humans did, doing everything until something clicked and hoping it was your thing?

Hope she doesn't have to do that. I had to wait twenty years before I knew this was my lifestyle.

"She does?" Lilac asked.

"Of course! She must be very proud of you." Mia smiled in the way Princesses are known for.

"Yes. Definitely proud." I admitted. "Friendship emergency!"

Mia nodded. "Oh? What is it?"

"Sparkle of Twilight's birthday is tomorrow, and I have nothing to give her!" I panicked, trying to stop myself from panicking.

"Tomorrow?" Mia asked. "Oh my! That's exciting!"

I nodded, still internally panicking. "Her and her friends are coming up tomorrow during Fancy Pants' garden party. I have to think of something to give her!"

"Raspberry, come down. I'm know Twilight, and she will love anything you give her." Mia said calmly, walking over to her coffee table (the terrible one I still wanted to change) where tea was sitting.

"Decaf tea?" I asked.

"For you, yes." Mia gestured at the other couch (the Roman one that was put in after my first visit) for me. "I remember your opinion of my Jasmine tea."

"It tastes like dirt." I repeated my opinion. I trotted to my seat.

"Mommy, how do you know what dirt tastes like?" Lilac asked. I smiled at her clever wit. "And, wouldn't it be more like mud, since tea is water?"

I nodded, pointing a hoof at her. "Good questions. Excellent questions." I turned to Mia, picking up my cup of tea. "Present. Brainstorm?"

Mia tapped her chin with her hoof. "Hmm. She likes books."

"She has a library." I pointed out.

"Exactly! She'll love it!"

"She _lives_ in a library." I pointed out. "She has plenty of books." I groaned, falling back onto my back. "The only thing I can think of is a bookmark, with Starswirl on it!"

"Can I get a bookmark?" Lilac asked. "And a cookie?"

"Cookie, yes. Bookmark, we can find you one later." I sighed, dragging a hoof over my face tiredly.

Mia gave me a kind smile. "Raspberry, Twilight will love anything you give to her. You're her friend."

"No I'm not." I said before I could stop myself. "She doesn't really like me that much. I need to get her a perfect gift that will show her that I consider her a friend." Wow, maybe this couch was a bad idea. Felt like I was at a psychiatrists office. "I have friends. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Lune, you." I sucked in my lips, making them pop.

It helped me think...sue me. "You know sometimes you get a feeling in your gut, like a compass pointing you one direction or another? But, it's pulling you too? Like your destiny?"

Mia nodded, after a pause. "When I was about to get my cutiemark."

"Exactly!" I cheered. "It is exactly like getting your cutiemark! Right now, my gut is telling me I have to get Sparkle of Twilight a worthwhile gift. One that will show her I really want to be her friend. I have _never_ wanted to be somepony's friend like this before! But, my instincts are telling me I need to be."

"Mommy, that didn't make any sense." Lilac commented, taking a bite of her cookie.

I gave her a yellow gem from my bag. Lilac took it with a delight 'ooh'. "Yeah. I didn't think it would."

"Raspberry, sorry if this is a rude question, but what exactly _is_ your special talent?" Mia asked.

So many ways I could twist that sentence.

"I help ponies." I answered. "I help them when they need."

"And do you think Twilight needs help?" Mia asked, giving me a questioning look.

She sounded like a mentor, guiding me along. It felt really nice to be guided for a change. I thought about my answer, thinking of how best to word it.

"I think...I think Twilight..."

"Are you sure it's Twilight who needs the friend?" Mia asked. "And not you?"

That made me stop. Damn, she was right. "I want Twilight to be my friend." I felt like I was fucking five years old again, telling my mom what you I wanted for my birthday.

Mia smiled. "Do you know why you want Twilight to be your friend?"

I nodded. "She was alone, for a really long time. She didn't think friendship was important, that she didn't need it." I started speaking from experience. "That is was a luxury she couldn't afford. That is was something she could never dream of having. Then she found friends."

"Raspberry, do you want to be friends with Twilight because of Killjoy?" Mia asked.

I froze. Here it comes...

"Mommy, where is Auntie Killjoy?" Lilac asked.

I gulped. "Hey, honey, did you know the Princesses have some paintings by Vincent van Hoof outside?"

Lilac dropped her jaw. "Really?!" I nodded. She ran out the door before anymore could be said.

"No." I said to Mia. "No, I want to be friends with Twilight, because I see so much of myself in her. I just...I just don't want her to feel alone."

Mia just looked towards the door, a curious frown on her face. "Does Lilac know?" I answered with silence. "Raspberry, why haven't you told her? She should know." Mia said. "Where does she think Killjoy is?"

"On a wild adventure." I answered, holding in my emotions. Not a good time to cry. "I want her to be happy, now. Not sad."

"Why?" Mia asked. "Why hide the truth from her?"

"She's already lost her grandparents and uncles." I said. "She can't lose her aunt and mother too, Mia."

"She hasn't lost you." Mia comforted. "She never did."

I nodded, sucking in my lip. "She needs her mother, I have to go on like nothing is wrong, because she can't know Killjoy is...that Killjoy is..." I gulped. "I'll wait til she can handle it, then tell her. She can't know before then."

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head to get rid of pesky emotions. My usual enthusiasm was back. "Now, what should I give Sparkle of Twilight for her birthday? Would a day planner work? She might like that."

=DMLB=

Hours had passed, and the sun had set.

Mia and I had gone on a shopping spree in town. Lilac was still looking at Vincent paintings in the palace. Celestia found her at one point, as I was told in a dragonfire message, and was showing her around.

When Lilac finds out about Morgan, I am so taking her to the Doctor to meet Vincent van Gogh. That'll be fun.

After three hours of painstaking shopping, we had finally found a gift for Twilight. I hoped she would like it.

Now, it was time for Night Court.

After putting my daughter to bed, telling her the story of when I saved Princess Rapunzel with a magic paint brush, I went to the Night Courtroom.

The room was dark, with large windows to let light in. Imagine a courtroom, but with dark blue walls and moon insignias.

I walked right up to the front, looking up at Lune with a happy smile. "Hey Lune. How are things?"

The dark blue alicorn smiled at me. "Delightful, Raspberry Stardust. Have you come again to assist U-" She grimaced. "Me?"

"You caught yourself." I grinned. "Good."

To be honest, pouring my heart out to Mia was kinda...tiring. Relieving, but tiring. It felt to admit all of that stuff, but I felt exhausted by the effort of putting it together.

Lune rolled her green eyes. "What dost thou wish to do?"

"I brought Mad Libs!" I cheered in a sing-song voice. "I'm gonna need a verb."

Lune shook her head. "This game is foolish."

"Lune, com on! I feel like you aren't even trying." I mock pouted.

"Night Court is to be a mature way to help our little ponies." Lune stated.

"My pencil is pink." I joked. "Oh!" Lifting the pencil to the paper, I began to write. "Help..."

There was a chortle from Lune. "You are incorrigible."

"Thank you." I smirked. "Needed an adjective."

Lune sighed. This was the fifth night I had done this. What? I had been on stakeouts and those were boring. I had to have something to pass the time. "Dost thou need another term?"

"An adverb."

"Friendly." Lune suggested.

I smirked. If Twilight doesn't like her gift, then I still had Lune. The friend who was a demon, and then stopped.

"Noun?"

"Canterlot."

"That feeling of you not trying is coming back."

"If thou does not like My suggestion, then why dost thy ask for it?" Lune asked.

I nodded. "Touché." I scribbled down Canterlot. The mare was learning...

=DMLB=

It was time. Twilight was holding the box in her magical grasp. Rarity had just run off for the billionth time. The party was raging on. Lilac was playing pin-the-tail-on-the-pony with Pinkie.

They didn't really get why I was here at first. Pinkie had invited me to the party. She was like a shipper, but with friendship I swear. Twilight actually was the first to actually accept me in. It was super relieving, it gave me the confidence to give her the gift.

Lilac made her a sparkly card. At least it wasn't as big as the room.

"Happy Birthday, Sparkle of Twilight." Twilight read off the label. "Best Wishes, Raspberry."

I shrunk back a bit, nervous. Girl can take on Cora, but giving someone I cared about a gift made me shake in my boots. Fuck that.

Twilight lifted the lid, staring at the gift.

It was a necklace. It had a simple golden chain with six round charms. One purple, one pink, one red, one blue, one orange, and one purple/pink.

"It's an Element of Harmony necklace." I explained. "Each charm is one of your elements. I didn't have the time for the shapes, sorry."

Twilight just stared at the necklace.

"Do...do you like it?"

The purple unicorn looked up at me. Her horn glowed pink, picking up the necklace from it's box. "Raspberry, I love it!"

It was like Tom the Boulder had been lifted off my shoulders.

"But, there's something missing from it." Twilight pointed out.

I tilted my head. No, six charms, six Elements. That's everypony.

"You don't have a charm." Twilight said.

My jaw dropped. "I...I don't have an Element."

"But you're still my friend." Twilight trotted up to me, hugging me.

I hugged her back. This made my heart start to work, damn.

=DMLB=

 _?_

There she was again. My Morgan. She was still so young, still so far away from meeting me. Oh, what to do, what to do.

She was getting close with those ponies. She was letting them in. I can say from experience she doesn't trust easily.

They'll learn soon. They will learn what I learned. Morgan always finds a way to stab you in the back. Her sister is dead proof.

I have to get them apart. I have to make Morgan realize what she really needed. She had to become the one who was _mine_.

Cause I swear, when she finally comes to my side, I would never let her go.


	34. Dragons Xtreme

The birthday of our favorite boy dragon was approaching. I found it super funny that Spike and Twilight had their birthdays close together. He was as old as Twilight's cutiemark.

Usually, I figure out myself what a person wants for their birthday. This year I let my instincts guide me. Spike didn't want a book, so I wouldn't get him just any book.

So, searching through the bookstore, I was looking for the perfect gift for Spike.

In the comic book section. Brilliant, huh?

"Raspberry?" A voice asked.

Looking towards it, I saw Twilight. She was holding a book in her magical grip, giving me a curious look. The two of us had actually been getting closer since her birthday. She had even added a small dark pink gem to the necklace I gave her. Twilight was used to my walking into the library, to seeing me around town, saying hello to me.

Just a couple days ago, Twilight asked me if I wanted to meet up for tea! For tea! I felt so British for a second, and said yeah. These ponies are making me extraverted and I can't find myself caring!

Lilac was even making more friends! With Derpy's daughter, Dinky. She was so cute! It helps that I ask Amethyst Star to watch Lilac whenever I go visit Cadance.

"Yeah, Sparkle of Twilight?"

"Why are you in the comic book section?" Twilight asked, walking towards me. She was also looking at the other comics.

"What? I don't look like a nerd?" I challenged. Twilight looked at me wide eyed. "I'm not one, those were my brothers, but it was just a bit insulting."

Twilight laughed. She shook her head. That was actually more insulting. "Are you shopping for them?"

"For Spike." I admitted, trying to find one he would like.

"Spike likes comic books?" Twilight said after a moment.

I shrugged. "I see the need inside of him. I grew up with two of them, and know the signs."

Picking up one, I threw it at her. "You should give him this one. He'd like it."

"Why do you think Spike will like Power Ponies?" Twilight asked.

"Don't know. I just get feelings sometimes. Buy that one this, tell this one that. Tell her to turn left, not right." I shook my head. "Oh. Wait. Haven't told her that yet. Not looking forward to that. Vanished just before I could." I looked at Twilight, who was still confused. "You can go which ever way you feel is right, or left. It's your life."

Searching again, I tried to find one for me to give Spike. "It's the first in the series, so he can read up on the rest on his own."

"Wow. Thanks!" Twilight cheered. "I owe you one!"

"Just admit you love me and the debt will be cleared." I joked, adding a laughing at the end.

Twilight laughed back. "Goodbye Raspberry."

"Bye-bye, Sparkle of Twilight."

Once she was gone, I began diving into my insanity.

"Would he like Spiderstallion?" I asked.

"No. The lizard guy." I argued.

"Good point." I shook my head. "How about Superstallion?"

"Yeah, it might be a good idea." I said, doubtful. "But what about the whole...it-ness?"

"It-ness?" I giggled.

"Yeah, it-ness." This is what I get up to when my sister isn't around. "It doesn't feel right for Spike."

"Yeah. I know. I just wanted to see your reaction."

Rolling my eyes, I pulled up another one. "What is this one even about?"

"Do I look like I know? Dare is our go-to nerd guide." I reminded myself.

"It's times like these where I wish it was a family thing." I sighed.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Oh! That one has a dragon on it!"

"Being murdered by a knight."

"Okay. Next?"

This went on for twenty minutes. It only ended because somepony had also come into the comic book section.

"I'm at a point of loss." I admitted to myself. "You sure there aren't any other books Spike might like?"

"How about a Power Ponies action figure?"

"Ohhh. That's good. Which one?"

"Did you notice they looked like the Mane Six?"

"I did, but it was a coincidence and I was busy."

"Get the Rarity one. He'd like that."

"I'd bet." I smirked, heading back to the comic book section. Then I blinked as I realized I just spent the past half hour having an argument with myself. "I need therapy."

==DMLB==

Don't ask how. Don't ask how. That way madness lies.

"Party time, woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered loudly, showing off the six of us patiently waiting to give Spike his birthday presents.

The library was decorated wonderfully. The confetti would probably take awhile to clean up. It was for Spike, a friend's birthday, so I guess it doesn't really matter. The cool thing is, this is the first birthday party I didn't crash or host. I had been invited to it!

Spike gaped at all of us. "Are those... for me?"

Applejack trotted towards him, tossing him her gift. "You bet they are, birthday boy."

Fluttershy went next, putting her gift on top of Applejack's. "Happy birthday, Spike." She cheered.

Rarity put her's on next, Lilac after her (spoilers, she gave Spike a card she made), Then mine (a Gemstone Action Figure), and finally Rainbow's weight set. The combined weight of it all made Spike drop everything, and get a little discombobulated.

He looked around at all the presents, apparently very confused by it.

Rainbow gave him a confused look. "Don't you know you get presents on your birthday?"

Spike shrugged, picking himself up off the ground. "Well, actually, this is my first birthday in Ponyville... I usually just get one present... from Twilight. A book."

"Well, actually, I didn't get you a book this year." Twilight said, giving him the box.

He took the box, giving Twilight a 'I don't believe that' glance. He tore it open, and smiled at what he saw inside. "A comic book!"

"Okay, not a book-book." Twilight smiled. "Raspberry thought it would be a good idea."

I shrugged, nervously. I didn't expect her to give me the credit. "Yeah. I did kinda help, and my present goes in line with her present."

Rarity decided now was a good time to show of her latest creation. "Speaking of presents." She pulled out grand pink cape, with lots of flare and stuff. It looked super fancy. "This is from my new line of taffeta capes. I'm going to make one for each of you!"

It hovered over towards all of us. We all gathered around it and gaped. It looked wonderful!

"Pretty." I said.

"Very pretty." Lilac complimented.

Rarity accepted the praise with dignity. "I've been inspired by the generosity of my little Spikey-wikey, who gave me this beautiful fire ruby." She pointed to her necklace. "One of the kindest acts I've ever experienced."

She snuggled Spike's recently washed cheek.

Lilac poked my forehoof. "Mommy, it's rude to eat other ponies' jewelry, right?"

I nodded. "Don't worry, I have some rubies at the house for you."

"Thank you Mommy." Lilac hugged my hoof.

I smiled, giddy. She's been calling me that for months, and I don't think I will ever get used to it.

==DMLB==

The party had been going on for two hours, and I was bored as shit. Also, annoyed as shit.

"Raspberry, thank you so much for the action figure!" Spike said, hugging me. He held in his other claw the Gemstone Action Figure.

The hug surprised me, and I ended up spitting out the bit of cupcake I was eating.

"Spike. You already thanked me ten times." I said. "And, I'm not really a hugging sort of pony." I heard Lilac snort to my right. Apparently she thought otherwise. "Could you let go of me now?" I asked him.

Spike almost blushed. "I know I keep thanking you guys, but I'm just so grateful. I wish this party could last forever!"

*pop*

*eek!*

Side note: Lilac was at the age where a popping balloon scared her.

Pinkie spat out the thing in her mouth. "Duh! The party can't last forever 'cause you have to go to Sugarcube Corner, 'cause the Cakes said they have a special surprise for you, 'cause it's your birthday!"

Pinkie fell onto a pile of trash.

"No way!" Spike's eyes were wide, and his smile nearly broke his face. I always loved when people smiled like that.

He dashed out of the library, towards Sugarcube Corner.

"I said the party couldn't last forever, but it doesn't need to end right now!" Pinkie called out to him.

I laughed, picking up some of the trash. I pushed it all into a trashcan. "It does kinda put a damper on the birthday party when the birthday boy isn't here."

"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed with me, almost sighing. "And it was just a-"

"Sapphire cupcake with a vanilla cupcake?" I said the same time as her.

Pinkie gasped. "Totally! How did you know?!"

"I made LIlac one when she turned three." I blinked, keeping a look of shock from my face.

Sometimes, when I go places, memories from their past just hop on up. I could start crying about a phantom memory, and have no idea why. Sorta like how Amy cried even though she didn't remember Rory. I knew I was crying, but I didn't know why. Not. Wait. It's not at all like that, but think of it that way if it helps you.

I knew Lilac was given this type of cupcake for her third birthday. I knew Raspberry spent two weeks trying to gather enough sapphires and enough ingredients to make it just right. I knew Lilac liked it, and that Raspberry spent the next three weeks making all other sorts of gem based cupcakes.

I just didn't remember doing it.

"It was good!" Lilac cheered. "Cause then Mommy made me emerald cupcakes, topaz cupcakes, amethyst cupcakes, _ruby_ cupcakes!" She started drooling. "Those are my favorite."

I laughed. She was so cute!

"Wow! We could use those!" Pinkie said, delighted.

"How? Only Lilac and Spike would eat them?" I asked.

"Well, it you two have dragons, then who knows how many other unicorns have dragons!" Pinkie said.

Oh. She had a good point.

"Actually Pinkie, no." Twilight said, stepping forward. "Only Raspberry and I have dragons."

Applejack came up. "How can you ya be sure of that?"

"At Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, you have to hatch a dragon egg." Twilight said. "For most students, they hatch it and move on. The egg gets sent to the Dragon Lands. For me, my magic went haywire and caused Spike to grow at an increased rate. It gave us a sort of attachment to each other." She looked over at me. "And from what Princess Celestia told me, the same thing happened with Raspberry."

"I hatched Lilac, and couldn't let her go." I smiled, wrapping a forehoof around her. Lilac giggled, curling herself into the hug. "So, like Sparkle of Twilight said, only she and I have dragons. If anypony else has them, we don't know about it."

That comment made Lilac frown, then smile. She hugged me hoof tightly, and buried her nose into it.

It was weird, Spike and Lilac being the only Equestrian dragons. It's kinda sad, in a weird way. At least she had me.

At least I had her.

==DMLB==

"Mommy?"

"Yeah Princess?"

"I had a nightmare."

I frowned, scooting over on my bed. I had expected this after Spike's party. "Come on over, sweetheart."

Lilac walked into my room, climbing into the bed. I used my magic to tuck her in tighter, even though she was snuggled into my side. I didn't ask what it was about, I didn't tell her to get over it, and I didn't tell her I would never leave her.

I just hugged her back, gently brushing her head fins.

Darcy was everything dark about me. She liked killing, but never did it to someone innocent. She harmed the guilty. She had a lot of sex, with a lot of guys, and killing most of them at the end. It was because most of the guys she had sex with were pigs. She did whatever she wanted, no matter the consequences, unless I told what he consequences would actually cost her.

All of my personalities, all over the TV screen, had an aspect of my personality that was enhanced. Some were extra kind, some were extra proud, osme were extra sad, or angry. The same for those made-up people, the ones given to me so I could help the Story.

Lilac was everything good about me. She liked helping ponies, she smiled, she cared more for others than herself, she didn't like bullies, and she didn't like lying. I could see bits of myself in her eyes, of me when I was young and happy. All the way back when I was her age. It was...hopeful. It gave me hope.

" _For one so small, you seem so strong."_ I sang to her, brushing her head fins still. _"My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm."_

Lilac curled tighter onto me.

" _This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry."_ I kept singing.

"' _Cause you'll be in my heart."_ Lilac sang. My eyes widened, looking down at her. _"Yes, you'll be in my heart."_ Her voice was weak, still scared of her nightmare.

The two of us began to sing together. _"From this day on, now and forever more."_

It was more than a song. It was promise, to her. She was one of two dragons in Equestria. Her nightmare was either about the Spike attack, or if she was ever in his place. She'd probably get torn apart by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon tomorrow. If my daughter came home tomorrow in tears, I was gonna have words with Filthy Rich and Silver Lining.

I was promising her that no matter what she did, no matter what was going on, no matter what, she would be my daughter. I will love Lilac until my dying breath.

From her singing back, I knew she was saying the same promise.

" _You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart, always."_

 _==DMLB==_

" _OY!" I groaned, shaking out all of the imaginary kinks in my body. "Ten-thousand years will give ya such a crick in the neck! Whoa! Does it feel good to be outta there!" Lifting my tail I pointe din at Luna/Aladdin. "Hi, where ya from?" She gaped. "What's your name?"_

" _Luna." She answered._

 _I raised a brow. "For the sake of the story?"_

 _She rolled her eyes. I could see the joy in them. SHe had as much fun with these things as much as I did. "Aladdin."_

" _Hello, Aladdin." I shook her hoof similar to how Applejack did when she met Twilight. "Nice to have you on the show. Can we call you 'Al?' Or maybe just 'Din?' Or how bout 'Laddi?'" I changed the dream so I was wearing a Scottish wear. It was funny, if the look on Luna's face was anything. "No. That sounds like 'Here, boy! C'mon, Laddi!'"_

 _I came back as a dog dressed in plaid._

 _Luna giggled. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought."_

" _Do you smoke? Mind if I do?" I turned myself into a puff of smoke, having to stop myself from laughing. Celestia Abu screeched. "Oh, sorry Cheetah-hope I didn't singe the fur!" I then noticed Carpet, or Rarity Carpet. "Hey, Rugman! Haven't seen you in a few millennia! Slap me some tassel!"_

 _Rarity Carpet flew up to me, her purple tassels hoof bumps me. "Yo! Yeah!" Then, I noticed the severe difference in height between luna and I. "Say, you're a lot smaller than my last master." I looked at my stomach. "Either that or I'm gettin' bigger." A mirror appeared next to me, I stood at my side, a large beer belly coming out in the reflection. "Look at me from the side-do I look different to you?"_

 _Carpet Rarity shrugged. Celestia Abu rolled her pink eyes._

 _Luna's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! I'm-your master?"_

 _I set off fireworks. "That's right! He can be taught! What would you wish of me, the ever impressive, the long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated-" Fifteen copies of me repeated the word. "Genie...of the...lamp!" I yelled._

 _Luna Aladdin and Celestia Abu raised their brows at me._

 _I ignored their doubt filled looks. "Right here direct from the lamp, right here for your enjoyment wish fulfillment. Thank you!"_

" _Whoa! Wish fulfillment?" Luna gaped._

 _I held up three hooves, using the dream magic to keep me floating. "Three wishes to be exact." I shrunk my self down, whispering to her. "And ix-nay on the wishing for more wishes. That's it-three. Uno, dos, tres. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds." I made myself giant again._

 _Luna shook her head, leaning over to Celestia Abu. "Now I know I'm dreaming."_

" _Master, I don't think you quite realize what you've got here! So why don't you just ruminate, whilst I illuminate the possibilities." I said._

 _Luna groaned. "Nay. Please tell me this isn't another one of your songs."_

 _I answered in the form of a song. "Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherazade had a thousand tales. But Master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails!"_

 _Luna looked around, trying make sense of the song and dance. She almost started to laugh._

" _You got some power in your corner now! Some heavy ammunition in your camp! You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how? See all you gotta do is rub that lamp!" I sang loudly. "And I'll say, Mister Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be? Let me take your order, jot it down. You ain't never had a friend like me!"_

 _The Night Princess smiled. "Oh, I am very much aware."_


	35. Christmas Plays

That time of year had come around once again. Christmas! I was going to have my Christmas with my family tomorrow, but today I was in Equestria. Princess Celestia invited us all to come up to Canterlot for the play, but for one twist. Lilac was asked to play a role. I thought it was for the role as storyteller, but Celestia said that wasn't it. Apparently Lilac had a special role to play in the...play.

My Christmas shopping was all done. For the humans, ponies, and dragons. I had little to no difficulty with Twilight's gift was this time. There were even some gifts for the alicorns! They were my friends too, so, silence thyself.

I gave Cheerilee her present (some of those #1 Teacher paraphernalia) just before I came up here. Hope she liked it.

Right now, we were on the train to Canterlot. The snow had picked up shortly after our last adventure. As far as everypony knew, it was almost Christmas time. Our bags were packed, our coats were being worn, and I had my saddlebags ready with my stuff.

"Mommy?"

Lilac was told she was going to be part in a play, and had a mini melt down. Now she just had stage fright. She was sitting next to me, her midnight blue eyes filled with worry. It made my heart shake.

"Yeah, Princess?" I asked, wrapping a hoof over her shoulder.

Lilac gulped, wringing her claws. "What...What if I forget my lines?"

"I'll go over them with you. Just think of it like a spelling test." I advised.

"What if somepony forgets theirs, and makes me forget mine?" Lilac asked.

"You'll be so thoroughly trained by me, that it won't be a possibility." I said, holding her a bit tighter in reassurance.

"What if somepony says my line, instead of their own?" Lilac asked.

"Everypony else who speaks is on this train with us. That won't happen." A part of me wanted to laugh at her absurd worries. The rest of me knew not too. That once I was in her (theoretical) shoes, back when I was at the beginning of my life.

Lilac still looked like she was panicking. She made her hands into a fist, and brought the fist to her mouth. If I didn't take more action, she may start biting it. "What if _I_ say somepony's line? Does that make me a line stealer?"

I shook my head, still holding her tight. "Lilac, I promise. Everything is going to be just fine. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I did the motions. "Okay? Breathe in, breathe out."

Lilac did so.

I pulled her script out from my saddlebag. "Just read over your lines. I promise everything'll be alright."

Lilac nodded, immediately going to her lines in the book.

Soon after, everypony was looking out the windows of the train. I pulled out my camera and took photos. Thankfully I bought five rolls of camera film. This was my first Christmas with Lilac, and I wanted to make it special.

"We're getting closer!" Twilight squealed sticking her head out the window..

"I can hardly wait!" Rainbow cheered, going into the second window.

Fluttershy's mane was blowing through the breeze, and it was hilarious. "I'm so excited, I...I feel like shouting!" She whispered. "Woo-hoo!"

"Hooo-wee!" Applejack leaned out the window, taking her hat off. "Canterlot, here we come!"

Rarity went next, wearing a Christmas tree on her head. "Oh, I do hope I look festive enough!"

Pinkie stood on Rarity's head, I'm surprised the mare didn't screech. "There it is! Canterlot!"

Lilac stuck her head out next. "It's so pretty."

"Oooh..."

I looked out the window. "I like the snow." Speaking of, their was a Christmas Special back home for Doctor Who. It has Clara in it from Asylum of the Daleks! My mind is going to fucking explode if I don't find out why she exists! I haven't even done a full adventure with the Eleventh Doctor yet, and I was still protective of him. Damn me and my bleeding heart!

==DMLB==

"Oh, isn't Canterlot wonderful this time of year?" Twilight said as soon as we got off the train.

Everypony was looking around the city, gawking. I wasn't. I had been here just last week to see Mia and Shining. He was actually super cool.

"Yeah, I wish it was Hearth's Warming Eve everyday."

I had a sudden impulse to yell at Timmy Turner, but repressed it. Stupid bucktoothed idiot, making everyday Christmas for three weeks. Messed up my freakin' head.

"Mommy, Mommy, can we get a snow globe?!"

"I got you one last time I came." I smiled.

==DMLB==

"There's so much to look at! I feel like my durned eyes are gonna pop right out of my head!" Applejack said as we trotted through Canterlot towards the play house.

Twilight smiled. "I have an idea, let's play 'I spy with my little eye' as we walk! I'll go first. I spy... an eight-foot candy cane.:

"I spy a snowpony!"

"I spy somepony eating a gingerbread house..." Pinkie held up a giant gingerbread house. "...and it's me!"

Everypony laughed.

"I spy, with my little eye, something small, and purple."

"Me!" Lilac cheered. She started looking around. "I spy something green!"

"Is it that tree?"

"No!"

"Is it Rarity's hat?"

"No!" Lilac giggled.

I made a fake annoyed groan. "Be warned, Dearest Daughter of Mine, I will figure out what you spy!"

==DMLB==

"You sure it wasn't Rarity's hat?"

Lilac laughed, still trying to get her costume on. "Mommy, no! It wasn't Miss Rarity's hat."

I raised a brow. "Wait. Was it the green in Rainbow's mane?"

"Yes!" Lilac said.

"Really?"

"No." She laughed.

I shook my head, laughing. "I raised you right."

Then, I got a good look at her costume. She wasn't dressed in old rags, or golden robes. She was just wearing what looked like a pink skirt, and a white shirt. For a girl who lived in the 80's as a child, that outfit looked familiar. She even wore blue sneakers on her feet! She was wearing a white feather wig on her head, with touches of blue at the tips. Golden gloves were on her hands, a beak over her mouth, and brown wings on her back to make her look like a griffon, which is apparently what she was playing. I don't know why the griffon was wearing clothes, but I'd rather not question that much.

Not because I didn't think much of it. I had an instinctually feeling something was wrong with this story. I knew that my being here had something to do with it, but I didn't know exactly what it was. It was gonna be a pain to figure out.

"I can't believe that Princess Celestia chose us to put on the most important play of the season! Do you guys know what an honor this is? For all of us?"

"No." I said with an eye roll. "Because you haven't been saying it during the train ride, the walk here, the past hour."

Twilight blushed.

"Oh, I wish she hadn't honored me quite so much...I can't go onstage!" Fluttershy squeaked. "I don't want everypony looking at me!" The yellow pegasus then hid in the box of boas.

Rarity came up next to her. "Fluttershy, darling, there's nothing to feel nervous about."

Fluttershy looked very hopeful. "No?"

Rarity pushed Fluttershy back to the mirror, and began putting on her hair and make-up. "Of course not. All across Equestria, ponies are preparing their own pageants for Hearth's Warming Eve in their own towns. It's tradition."

Fluttershy looked super hopeful. "So you're saying they'll be too busy to come to our play?"

"Well, no." The sophisticated unicorn shook her head. "We're in the Canterlot pageant, the biggest, most important production in all of Equestria. A lot of ponies will come to watch us."

"A lot?" I rolled my eyes.

"Hundreds." I facehoofed. This was starting to remind me of the Macbeth Play I did with Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl. Idiots.

"Hundreds?"

"Maybe even thousands!"

And...she's back in the box. I walked up to it, and gently tried coaxing her out. "Fluttershy, I promise, it'll be just fine." I smiled at her. She gave me a terrified look. "Don't focus on the audience, if you need to look that way, just look at the exit sign. Just pretend it's a conversation between friends. Can you do that for me?"

Fluttershy sighed, then nodded. She climbed out of the box.

That was when the window opened.

"Oh, my hair! Applejack? Be a dear and shut those windows, will you?"

Applejack walked towards the window. I grabbed the window with my magic and slammed it shut, locking it for good measure.

"Aaah! Rain-bow-Dash! Rain-bow-Dash! Aaaah! Thank you, thank you!" The pegasus cheered.

Applejack glared. "It's a reenactment of the founding of Equestria. It's not the 'Rainbow Dash Show'." She growled.

Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack, right in her eyes. "Well it should be the 'Rainbow Dash Show'! I'm the star!"

Spike "Curtain in two minutes!"

The wendigos blew the window open again. "My hair!" Rarity squeaked.

"What if it all falls apart?" Fluttershy squeaked.

I put a hoof on her shoulder. "Fluttershy, I promise, everything is going to be just fine." I said. I closed the window with my magic again.

"The Hearth's Warming Eve pageant is about harmony and friendship."

It burst open a third time.

"Shut the window!"

==DMLB==

The play was actually really good. Spike's narration was wonderful, and voice was a great touch. I was super proud of everypony on stage, even though I had no reason to be. The Three Tribe Leaders had just been frozen in wendigo ice. Smart Cookie, Pansy, and Clover were all curled in on each other in the center of the cave.

It was almost time for Lilac to come on stage.

The three ponies on stage screamed as the room got colder.

There was a flash of yellow, and Lilac was sitting in the room.

"Woah. This is a weird way to spend my...my birthday." Lilac stumbled over her line slightly, but managed to cover it. She looked around the cave, ever so curious. "What's going on here? Did some...someone leave the AC on...on..on high?" She said, then covered it up with shivering.

'Clover' looked over at the 'griffon'. "Who are you?"

"Well, my name is Danielle, but most call me Elle." She looked down, at noticed her claws. "Woah. Claws. Yellow claws." She looked behind her, at her wings. This reminded me of when the Doctor would regenerate. "Wings. Alright. First trip and I get wings."

"How did you get in here?" 'Smart Cookie' asked. "The door is frozen shut!"

"It is." 'Elle' blinked. "Um...points for...points for effort." She shivered again. "Can someone turn the heat on? It's really cold."

"Griffon!" 'Pansy' squeaked.

'Elle' gaped, like she was insulted. "Griffon?" She looked herself over. "Really? Why do I have to be a griffon? That's just weak." She noticed the frozen leaders. "What happened to them?"

"Frozen solid." 'Clover' whimpered, looking over at 'Princess Platinum'.

"Woah." "Elle' blinked. "Sorry. Who are you three?"

"What?" 'Smart Cookie' asked.

"Seeing as we might be next, I thought we could at least get to know each other. I'm Elle." She smiled, holding out her claw.

"Smart Cookie."

"Clover the Clever."

"Private Pansy."

"Creative names." 'Elle' smiled. "Very unique. Those are gonna be easy to remember.

"Your's is too, Elle." 'Smart Cookie' commented.

"Griffons have a more unique style to naming than ponies." 'Clover' pointed out to them.

There was a giant roar. Everypony screamed. 'Elle' joined them in the center of the room, between 'Clover' and 'Pansy'.

'Pansy looked up at the wendigo animation spell. "W-W-What is that...thing?"

'Clover's' eyes widened. "They must be... wendigos!"

"Windigos?" 'Smart Cookie', 'Pansy', and 'Elle' gaped.

"My mentor Star Swirl the Bearded taught me about them. They're winter spirits that feed off fighting and hatred. The more hate the spirit feels, the colder things become!" 'Clover' explained.

"Then why didn't you figure this out sooner?!" 'Elle' almost yelled. I could already hear Lilac's future apology to those three.

"I haven't thought about them since I was a filly!" 'Clover' excused.

'Smart Cookie' came to a realization. "Then...this is our fault. We three tribes...we brought this blizzard to our home by fightin' and not trustin' each other. Now it's destroyin' this land, too."

"And now our bodies will become as cold as our hearts...all because we were foolish enough to hate." 'Clover' said.

"Well, I don't hate you…" The ice stopped. "I actually hate Commander Hurricane a lot more than I hate you guys." It's back.

"Commander Hurricane?" 'Elle' said. "Sounds tough."

The other two ponies giggled.

'Pansy' correct herself. "Actually, I don't really hate her, I just really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really dislike her."

They other two started laughing. "Well, I don't hate you guys either." 'Smart Cookie' said.

"Nor do I." 'Clover' said.

'Elle' looked around at the wendigos. She shut her eyes tight, hiding on 'Pansy's' coat. "Jingle Bells...Jingle Bells...jingle all the way…"

"What're you doin'?" 'Smart Cookie' asked.

"My mom told me that when you're scared, that singing made it better." 'Elle' said. Her eyes never opened. "And Jingle Bells was the first song I could think of. Don't convince a little kid to stop singing." 'Elle' explained. "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh. Laughing all the way. Hahaha."

The ice shrunk away. The four stayed in the hug.

"No matter what our differences, we're all ponies." 'Smart Cookie' smiled.

"Yeah. What she said." 'Elle' squeaked.

Then, 'Clover's' horn glowed brightly. It got rid of the wendigos, it a bright pink heart of fire.

"What was that?" 'Pansy' asked.

"Word to the wise." 'Elle' said. "When something saves you from freezing to death, don't question it. It may change it's mind."

"I didn't know unicorns could do that." 'Smart Cookie' said.

"I didn't either." 'Clover' admitted. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. But I know it couldn't have been just me. It came from all three of us, joined together, in friendship."

Spike began his narration. "All through the night, the three ponies and the one griffon kept the fire of friendship alive by telling stories to one another and by singing songs, which of course became the winter carols that we all still sing today. Eventually, the warmth of the fire and singing and laughing reached the leaders, and their bodies began to thaw." His accent vanished. "And it even began to melt their hearts."

The three leaders lost their ice coats. They joined the party, and 'Elle' gave them each a hug.

"The three leaders agreed to share the beautiful land, and live in harmony ever afterwards. And together, they named their new land..."

"Equestria!" All seven cheered.

Everypony in the audience cheered. I cheered as loud as I could went the curtain call came up. I threw a bouquet of flowers for all of them.

We sang the carol, and I had never felt so proud of Lilac in her life.

==DMLB==

I was cleaning the feather off Lilac's head, sitting backstage with everypony else. "Princess I am so proud of you." I cheered.

Lilac blushed. "I just remembered you telling me it was gonna be fine."

"See? What did I say?" I hugged her. "You mom may be a lot of things, but she could never break a Pinkie Promise."

"Can anypony?" Lilac said. The two of us giggled.

"We should be so honored that Princess Celestia chose us!" Twilight cheered. "She must really think we exemplify what good friends are!"

The wind burst open.

"Applejack, I thought you closed all the windows." Rarity commented.

The earth pony rolled her eyes. "Don't blame me. Rainbow Dash should've flown up there and shut it. After all, she's got wings." Okay. That was racist. I'm like eighty percent sure that was racist.

"Why do I always have to do all the high up chores?" Rainbow snapped. "Why can't Twilight use her magic for a change!"

There was a large amount of arguing, most of which I couldn't catch.

There was a loud roar, and they were all stunned silent.

Rainbow flew up "Y'know what? I got it."

They all laughed. My eyes widened.

"Oh! Wait!" I said, reaching into my saddlebags. "I almost forgot. Hearth's Warming Eve Tradition." I held up all of my presents to them in my magic. "You open one present."

Their gifts floated over to them, even Spike when he walked in. They looked at their gifts happily.

"You got me a Hearth's Warming gift?" Rainbow asked, sounding surprised.

"Duh." I rolled my eyes. "How could I not?"

One by one, they opened their presents.

"Bird feed!" Fluttershy exclaimed.. "Oh, my friends will love this when the spring comes around!"

"More sewing supplies! Thanks Celestia, I was starting to run low!" Rarity cheered.

"Oh! A photo album, so I can keep memories of my friends. Just what I needed!" Twilight hugged the album.

"An apple cinnamon roll recipe?" Applejack looked at me.

"It was my mom's." I smiled at her. "I managed to find it in my kitchen. Thought you might like it."

Pinkie squealed. "A cake recipe!" She gasped. "Sprinkles _inside_ the cake?! Why didn't I think of that?"

Rainbow raised her brow. She opened the tube, tilting her gift out. A rolled up poster popped out. She unrolled it, and gasped. "A poster signed by the Wonderbolts!"

I nodded. "Spitfire apparently owed my sister a favor." I explained. "So, I got all the members to sign their newest poster to Rainbow Dash." I smirked. "Although, once they hear dit was going to you, they were very eager to sign."

Rainbow's eyes bulged in her head. She looked at the poster like it was gold, and squealed.

"A Fire Ruby?!" Spike gasped.

"Yeah. Had to fight a Diamond Dog for that." I admitted. Then shrugged. "Fang was asking for it anyway."

"What about my gift, Mommy?" Lilac asked.

"Princess, I got you canvases." I told her. "I have them set up in our usual room."

Lilac squealed, clapping her claws. "Then let's go! I know exactly what I have to paint next!" She made her way to the door.

Rolling my eyes, I laughed. She was so cute.

"Raspberry." Twilight said.

I turned to her. "Yes, Sparkle of Twilight?"

Twilight smiled. "Thank you. Have a merry Hearth's Warming."

I smiled back. "I will. You do."


	36. Darkness on the Rise

The office was especially dull today. The same usual paperwork, the same usual delinquents, and the usual day of boredom. My lessers would come and speak with me, to kiss up.

The day would start with me, making coffee and having a healthy breakfast. I would shower, comb my hair, shave, brush the teeth. I would dress in a black business suit. I would drive to work, set up shop, and

My wife would come by, at lunch, and give me a kiss on the cheek. My daughter would sometimes show up, doing some of her homework if school was back. During weekends, she would just watch Netflix.

[ _i]'The Center has better internet, Dad.'_ [/i] Lila said once I asked.

Yet, today, on New Year's Eve, it was different.

"President Chamberlin, your twelve o'clock is here." My secretary, Emma, said over the landline.

I held back a groan. A Traveler from out of state had asked to speak with me. He claimed it was about something important, but it rarely was these days. Everyone panicking over that end of that bullcrap. A part of me hopes it was done, but I was not the hopeful type.

"Send him in." I replied to Emma.

"Yes sir." Emma said, the line cutting off with a loud beep.

I ran a hand over my face. I had already spent an hour conversing with Mister Trevor on the status of our prisoners in Level Five.

We had a five layer dungeon. Each layer was another level of dangerous. Our most dangerous criminals stayed on Level Five until execution.

On rare occasion, some foolish teenager brings a Character from their Place. They were placed on Level Five until they were deemed dangerous or not. If not they were sent home. If so, then it's a good thing they were on Level Five.

Of course, my wife somehow convinced them to put children on Level One. Character, miscreant, or anything else. If it hadn't gone through puberty, it was sent to Level One.

*knock* *knock*

"Come in." I said.

The door opened, revealing a man that made the hairs on my neck stand. He was six feet high, I believe. His body was young, but in my line of work I knew he was much older. The look in his black eyes agreed with me. His hair was dark, and cut in an almost buzz.

He was dressed in all black. It reminded me of clothes a soldier might wear. Black shirt, black cargo pants, and the rubber of his sneakers scratched against the tile floor. He carried a black leather briefcase.

The man took a seat across from me. I stared at him, trying to claim my superiority. I was President of this region, and I had worked too hard to gain that.

"Your name isn't Logan, is it?" I commented, remembering the name he was signed in under.

The man chuckled. "It has been for a very long time, Dominic." He said, a challenge in his eyes. They matched my own, I am sure.

"What do you want?" I asked him, after a short pause.

The man, Logan, looked around my office. He was smiling, like he was standing in a museum exhibit without the security guard knowing.

"How long have you been President?" Logan asked, changing the subject.

"Fifteen human years." I answered.

"Since the death of Queen Delilah Patterson, right?" Logan said.

A spark of pride came to me. I had been in rule since that bitch died. September 17, 1997. Best day of my life. I had killed the Queen, and no one figured it out.

Logan reached back, opening his briefcase. "Is this right? Camera angle was a bit shaky, but I think I was able to get the jist." He pulled out a photograph.

When I saw it, I had half a mind to call security.

It was of me and Delilah, all those years ago. I was standing over her crumpled body. I remembered that. I was telling her why I had killed her. Why she ruined my life. Why she should die. The look of betrayal in her eyes was something I pictured fondly over the years.

How did he have this? I checked around for any sort of human presence to-

"I'm sure you're wondering how I managed to acquire this." Logan said. "Simple. Brought myself back in time, simple time displacement spell. Works wonders. Had a lot of fun with that one."

I glared at him. "What do you want?"

That made Logan's grin change. It was like the cat had his prey in his class.

"I will not be made a fool of by a child." I growled.

Oh, now Logan's grin grew. Like I had assisted some long time inside joke.

"Not yet, anyway." Logan said.

I glared.

He reached into his briefcase. His black soulless eyes never left me. "Delilah wasn't as stupid as you believed. The whole time this picture was going on, she was making sure her soul lived on."

"How?" I asked, confused and terrified at it's meaning.

Logan leaned forward in his chair. He gave me a grin, mixed with a smirk. "Well, after you explained your killing of her because she was always the favored one, the one Felicity liked better. You didn't want to share Felicity, did you? Oh no. You wanted that lady all for yourself, and Delilah kept getting in the way. So, while you were so wrapped up in yourself, you never even noticed Delilah muttering to herself."

I stood up from my desk. "She can't be alive!"

"Delilah Patterson died, yes, but her soul on the other hand." Logan said, offhandedly.

He rose up from his chair, walking around my office. "September 17, 1997. Delilah Patterson died, setting off a domino effect. The Traveler Realm was forever changed. The entire world parted into sectors, governed over by Presidents."

He showed me the second picture he pulled from his briefcase. "Ya know, until people find out about her."

Then he showed me her picture.

A girl, maybe eleven or twelve. Her hair was black, held back by a headband. She was in a school uniform, and smiling at the camera. School picture day.

"The best photo of her I could get." Logan said. "All the other ones are fuzzy, or she isn't looking at the camera. Camera shy, apparently." He threw the photo at me. "Born 2:37, Tulsa, Oklahoma."

"No." I shook my head. "She didn't!"

"September Seventeenth, 1997. She's fifteen now." Logan said.

"She couldn't still be alive." I argued.

"She is." Logan smirked. "And guess what. She's one of us."

I shook my head. No. No. Fifteen years of hard work would not be undone because of her. Delilah would not ruin my life again, no!

"Her name is Morgan Spencer, and as of right now, she has killed three million thirty thousand people."

That made me almost smile. "Sounds like a Level Five threat." I commented.

Logan smirked. "I'd be prepared. I've fought her before, and she is a tough nut to the crack."

"I've fought her before, too." I snapped at the man.

"Which ended up bringing Morgan to life." Logan snarked. He grabbed a third picture. "You need a trump card. Trust me. I always bring one when I fight her."

I looked at the photo. I couldn't see what was on it. "How long have you known her?"

"Three hundred years."

I was right. He was older than he looked.

"Her? She's known me for her whole life." Logan made his face tight, glaring at the photo of the girl.

"Is that why you came to me?" I almost chuckled. "Cause you need help?"

Logan went back to a smile. "Trust me, Dominic, if I want Morgan dead, she will die. I've killed her six times "

I smirked. "Six? Then why isn't she dead already?"

"Travels." Logan excused. "I've had a blast." He showed me the picture. "Her name is Lilac. She's Morgan's Created daughter."

My face recoiled in disgust. Created. Useless, the whole bunch of them. I have never liked my Createds. Whenever I would go anywhere, I would bring my wife. No unnecessary Createds needed.

It was a dragon.

That...that stupid whore made a dragon.

Oh, Delilah, what the hell were you thinking?! I could maybe understand a regular average human, but a dragon!

And what the hell was that pink horse?

"My Little Pony." Logan said. "She is naive as she is innocent. It's a little sickening to be honest. I've seen Morgan almost repeatedly give her life for that sack of scales."

"Createds. Never understood why we needed them." I spat, throwing the photo backing to him.

The man just put it in his briefcase. "True, but two Createds helped me take down Morgan." Logan grabbed the other photos. He pushed them into his briefcase. "You should start checking up on her. You never know when she'll mess up."

Logan started towards the door.

"You hate her."

Logan stopped.

I took notice of that. "You hate Morgan. As much as I hate Delilah."

He turned towards me, and for the first in a long time, I felt my hearts stop. His black eyes were looking in my soul. They were almost glowing. My heart felt like it was being grabbed from inside my chest.

Then, it squeezed.

I gasped, falling onto my knees in pain. My hand reached up, trying to claw at the imaginary hand over my heart.

The sound of his shoes was all I could hear. He kneeled down, looking over me like I was a curiosity he needed solving.

"No. I don't hate Morgan." Logan said. "Oh, how could I? She has some gorgeous amber eyes, that can never change. I've seen her try. Her heart is...like a mixture of darkness and purity. Shining so pure at times, and burning so dark at others."

I gasped, trying to stop my pain.

Logan shifted about, leaning his back on my desk. He was on the ground at this point. He was acting like it was a campfire story.

"Me and her, our relationship is so complicated. Sometimes she loves me, sometimes she hates me. Sometimes she wants to kill me. It's adorable. The look of indecision over her face." Logan laughed. "Oh. It's a grand ole time. She plays hard to get, ya know? She flirts with other guys when I'm around. She barely beat me last time, so I'm waiting for our next match."

Suddenly, my heart was let go. I sagged to the ground, gasping for air. Logan just laughed at me.

"So go ahead. Have your go with Morgan." He got up, and started walking away. I was still reeling from the pain. "I know it'll be you that ends her. Pull that rug out from under her feet."

The door opened, and he gave me a last look. "What..."

"Just promise me one thing." Logan requested. "Make it hurt."

That was the last time I ever saw Logan.


	37. Speaking at Chapel

Being back at school was boring. Like, really boring. I hated being a sophomore. It was the High School equivalent of Tuesday. Tuesdays hate me. Almost anything bad to me happened on a Tuesday. I think it was 2/3's of all that stuff. I don't think I have mentioned how much I hate Tuesdays.

As per usual, nobody knew their Christmas gifts were from me. Anonymous to a fault, that's me. Oh. I could do that someday, become a hero named Anonymous. Wonder how long she would last. They all loved their gifts, though. I knew that much.

Going back to school was a drag. I had spent an entire week just being lazy. It was amazing! Now I was told I had to do more high school stuff. Storyline dammit. Actually, you know, I need to curb my swearing. It's becoming a problem.

Tomorrow was a Chapel day. That meant I would have to sit still for an hour and listen to someone tell us some stupid sermon. It's boring. I don't really remember who was coming, so I guess I would have to ask. I liked knowing what level of boredom chapel would be.

Wow. That was rude.

My brother, Derek, was actually in charge of Chapel stuff. He would call people, asking them to come, making sure the sound system was all hooked up. Derek was the Big Man on Campus, and not just because he was nearly six feet.

I got up from my usual hideout, picking up just my phone. My computer was set to lock if I didn't use it for three minutes, so that should keep anyone out of it. It was almost lunch time, so I might as well meet Derek in the cafeteria. I picked up my lunchbox, deciding it was a better course of action.

The school was pretty basic, once you got down to it. It was a two minute walk to the cafeteria, if you walked slowly from the library. Everybody else in the school was already on their way.

Almost immediately, I spotted my brother making his way towards his friends.

"Derek!" I yelled at him.

The boy turned over towards me. He gave me a confused look. I ran up to him, so as not for me to lose his attention.

"Yeah, Morgan?" Derek asked. "What's up?"

"Who's speaking at chapel tomorrow?" I asked him.

This made Derek smile. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

I gave him a 'go on' look. "Well, who is it?"

"The guy I called to do it-Mr. Tucker-cancelled on us. His business is really taking off-"

"Derek, who is speaking tomorrow?" I cut him off. I was already tired from Jumping to a new book last night, and reading the book, and the two sequels. What? I really liked the book!

I had stayed there for awhile. It was long, hard, and incredibly boring. I mean, I was just a girl that (if I so wished it) could turn into a raging hurricane. What was new about that?

"The emergency speaker." He gave me a knowing smile.

I raised a brow. "And...that is..." Sometimes my brother has a lapse of stupidity.

He gave me a confused look back. "Morgan, _you're_ the emergency speaker." Derek said.

Sometimes _I'm_ the momentarily stupid one.

==DMLB==

How did I forget that? How did I forget being an emergency speaker at Chapel? My school has a weird setup. To teach kids how to be better leaders, they put us in roles where we need to lead. Giving us control of our schedule, letting us do our work, letting older kids drive their own cars, and speaking at chapel services.

Last November, a week after Halloween if memory serves, I was asked to be the got to chapel speaker if someone else cancelled. Stupidly, I said yes. Past Me gets me into so many problems I can't even begin.

So, I sat in my room at the library, wondering what to talk about. I was going through enough problems at the moment. I was figuring out how to help Apple Bloom with her family problem, without actually helping. Help by association. I had to meditate on my powers of I wanted to have the thing ready for the Wedding. I also needed to figure how how to even help with the Wedding.

It's gonna be epic, or confusing. I haven't decided yet. Maybe both?

What could I even talk about? Do I talk about Darcy, and how much it hurt that she left? Do I talk about how I was put back together by Lilac? Do I talk about my strained relationship with Mom, and the rest of my family?

Life is too stupid. At Work, I have some sort of control. I know what is going to happen to who. I know who is going to betray who, and when. I know what is going down.

Here? On Earth? Nothing. I don't know anything about anyone, and I don't like that. It is driving me insane! I can't even drive legally! I've been driving since I was sixteen years old, and I'm not allowed to drive alone! I'm a hundred ninety three for goodness sake!

Oh. Right. I aged a bit, being a hurricane and all. Life was good. Couldn't touch seawater, but good. Hated bikinis anyway.

Gah! Off topic. Back in track. Chapel. Speaking. Me. What do I say? What _could_ I say?

"Morgan?"

I turned back, seeing Caroline walking into the library. Seeing as I could talk to her and work, I looked down at my backup laptop.

"Care." I said.

She took this as a sign to go on. "Derek told us you were gonna speak at Chapel tomorrow."

I didn't look away from my laptop. Right now, I was writing what changes I had made to that world. It wasn't much, really. I just became a Category Three Hurricane, nearly got killed in Hurricane Gary, and then was abducted by a crazy psycho bitch.

Then, she tried to have me help her mani-sorry. Spoilers. Not cool.

Then, I remembered Caroline was in the room. "Huh? Oh. Right."

"Are you nervous?" Caroline asked, coming down to sit next to me.

"Never nervous." I lied.

Caroline laughed. "I've been looking over those Rules of your's."

That made me give her an appraising look. "Oh?"

"Rule One: She lies." Caroline said. Then, she grinned. "Isn't that from _Doctor Who_?"

"That gained you so many nerd points, I can't even begin." I commented. Care rolled her brown eyes. "It is from the Doctor, but it fits with me too."

"You always lie?" Care asked, sounding a bit concerned.

Sucking my lip in, I got back to my laptop. "Sometimes lying is the only way to keep me safe."

"Safe?" Caroline asked, sitting up. "Why wouldn't you be safe?"

I can't tell her the full truth. "If I told Becca what I really thought of her, she might scratch me with her fake nails." Care chuckled. "Stuff like that. I'd rather keep my blood inside my body."

Care shook her head, still kinda laughing. "You know, there are times where I don't understand anything you say. One second, you're serious, and then you make jokes."

"Rule Ten." I smirked. It was getting harder to write my trip with talking to Care. She was cool.

Care laughed again. "Rule Ten. I like Rule Ten!"

"Most people like Rule Six." I grinned. "Rule Ten is cool too."

As we laughed, I was terrified. I had no idea what I would be talking about.

==DMLB==

It was in five minutes, and I was scared stiff. Right after worship ended, I would go up. It was all I could think about, and I kept drawing blanks. I couldn't tell any of them anything about my life!

It was all just so much. On if five minutes with no clue what to say. If this was how everyone was before a speech, they I would like to apologize. Nerves are really stupid!

Just as I felt like giving up completely, and just BSing my way out of this, I felt a sort of pain shoot up my arm.

I hissed. It was covered by the music the band was playing. I grabbed my pain filled arm, my mind flashing to events of when I was a kid.

It was supposed to be a simple walk down to PE. Being impatient, I tried to get there first. Then one of the boys grabbed my arm, and shoved me down. It was about ten steps, but the landing was concrete. His friend grabbed me and threw me down the other twenty.

Man, being a bullied kid wasn't fun.

Then, it hit me.

"Now, speaking today is a good friend of mine." Care began. "Give her some love. Morgan Spencer."

I knew what to talk about.

Taking a calming breath, I took a seat on the stage. The cheering lasted about ten seconds, but it gave me time to adjust.

"My name is Morgan Spencer." I said. "You all know me as Mr. Spencer's daughter." A few of the kids nodded. "Today, I'm gonna talk to you about something important." I said. "Bullying."

Silence. There were a few uncomfortable looks, ones I recognized from kids who were bullied. Mom was almost a little afraid. Dad looked very confused.

I steeled myself. There memories were almost two hundred years old, yet it still felt like it all happened yesterday. "When I was six years old, I went to a new school. The kids hated me, I was just another new kid. I'm sure some of you know the feeling." The newer students chuckled. "It stayed that way for years. I was publically humiliated more than once. By students, and once by a teacher. One boy made me cry in class. One girl told me she would be my friend, then laughed in my face after pranking me in front of the entire class. Two girls laughed at my weight while I was changing into my PE clothes. It wasn't fun."

A few gave me wide eyed looks. I saw Care frowning, deeply.

"One time, I was locked out of school by the teacher. When I got back to the class, I got them back. Stole a bag of candy from my mom's room and said she gave it to me. My entire class called me a freak and a weirdo." A sad laugh came out. "Two boys pushed me down flights of stairs, breaking my arm. I had to go get stitches too, since I hit my head on the concrete floor. My arm had a cast, which I guess was cool. I mean, it's a cast. I could draw stuff on it."

Shock turned to horror.

"Seven years." A century and a half. "I had to live in that life. I prayed to God every night as I cried for it to stop. Stop the pain. Stop the torment. I just wanted it all to stop. After a while, I didn't think my prayers were even heard. Then, Dad came to me one day. He asked me if I would like to go to the new school he was making, he and Mom and some of their friends.."

I laughed, feeling elated at getting this off my chest. "I can't even begin to describe how happy I was. It's like being told we were going to Disney World. That school, that place, was killing my soul. Can you imagine that? Have any of you felt that? That feeling where your soul gets smaller and smaller. It didn't even really break. It slowly faded away over seven years."

Taking a pause, I looked around the chapel. "This place, brought it back. Each day I spend here, I feel myself getting lighter and lighter. My heart got put back together here.

"That's why I love this place." I explained to my school. "It gave me the space to spread my wings. I found things I really love. I have found people I really love." Sadness over Darcy came back. Then joy over Lilac and the ponies. "They put me back together. None of that bad stuff happens here. It never does, and it never will. We aren't just a school, we're a family. It doesn't matter if you've been here since the start, being family means you are willing to be there until the end."

I gulped, smiling at all of them. Even though I had just confessed my second biggest secret, I was still scared. "So, just, yeah. Go out and prove it. Don't make fun of each other for their faults, or their talents. If they're bad at it, they're bad at it. If they're good at it, they're good at it. There's no need to be a cruel person."

I stood up. For the rest of the hour, I poured my heart out. I told everyone here about the very events that turned me into Morgan Spencer, The First (or Last) Jumper.

==DMLB==

"Was any of that true?" Caroline asked me after chapel.

I gave her a curious look. "No, I made it all up." I said sarcastically.

"I'm being serious." Caroline said, her tone low.

"I know." I shrugged. "Hey, I think we need to go over some stuff for Chemistry class. Do you have any of the notes from this mornin-"

"Morgan, you just told everyone in the school you were bullied." Caroline said. "Before last Thanksgiving, most people didn't even know you could talk."

"Not talk? I know said some stuff in classes, or sang at Worship. How can most people think I don't talk?" I said, trying very hard to steer the topic away from the Chapel service.

Caroline glared at me. Her brown eyes dug into mine, and it kinda freaked me out. "Morgan, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't you that bullied me." I shrugged. "You're one of my friends."

"It still isn't right, what they did to you." Caroline said.

"I got over it." I said, starting to get irritated.

"Got over it? That's...wow." Caroline gaped at me. "They did all of that to you, and you just...got over it?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you ever tell anybody?" Caroline asked me, sounding very concerned.

"My family had their own problems, and so were the teachers. I was one of the millions students being bullied. There was no reason to tell anybody." I growled. "So hoekom doen jy nie net ophou pla my oor hierdie kak uit toe ek tien jaar oud?!"

Her eyes were wide.

I blinked, then face palmed. "I said that in Afrikaans, didn't I?"

"You know Afrikaans?" Caroline asked. She looked me over. "What else don't I know about you?"

' _You have barely scratched the surface, yet that is farther than anyone else has gotten that wasn't my twin.'_ "You know I can talk." I joked.

Care resisted the laugh, but she did. "Yeah. I know you can talk." I saw the look in her eyes. The look I've seen on companions with the Doctor. What did she really know about me? Was I really someone she could trust? "How did you get over it?"

"I..." I was at a blank.

I never got over it. Something worse just happened to me. The pain of being bullied got buried under the pain of being a killer for fifty years. It made me realize I deserved every second. It was my punishment. It was my destiny. Those kids, they saw it in me. That potential for darkness. They saw what I would become and tried to stop as only kids know how.

Who needed self esteem, anyway? Can't miss what you never had, as they say.

"It just faded." I lied. "Wounds heal, and scars fade. It's...it's just one day and it was gone. Weird, huh?"

But I saw that look in Care's eyes. She knew I was lying. Been my friend a month and she already knew when I was lying. It took Darcy two years to get that, and she was basically me!

"Yeah." Caroline agreed. "Weird." Then, she laughed. "I can't believe your parents never told us."

"That's because they never knew." I admitted. My eyes went wide.

Shit. They were gonna be pissed.

==DMLB==

A woman stood off campus. Her skin was nearly ghostly pale, with freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her dark green eyes surveyed the inside of the school with slight worry.

She was maybe seventeen, but her eyes read of someone _much_ older. She wore skin tight black jeans, leather boots, a dark blue top, and a tan jacket. She leaned back against a tree, running a hand through her ginger hair as she sighed.

"Did I have to do that?" Her voice was fierce, and British. "It felt wrong to hurt her like that."

"You are so much like your father, it almost makes me sick." A new voice said.

The girl turned to her friend, watching as leaned on the tree with her. She wore a short silver skirt, barely reaching her mid-thigh. It had a black belt, a knife holster on her left hip. Her shirt was a black halter. She wore some dark red shoes.

The woman pulled out a fund of lipstick, reapplying it on her lips. "She's been hurt worse, and you know it."

The girl looked back to the school. "Yeah, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I said nothing about liking it." The woman remarked. She put the lipstick tube away. "I hate hurting Morgue too, but she said this was what inspired her to share, Melody."

Melody Pond bit her orange painted lips. "Can we go Home now?"

The woman gave an understanding smile. She put her hand on Melody's shoulder. Her purple eyes filled with mischief. "We need to point and laugh at her again."

Melody laughed.

The two vanished in a purple flash, leaving no trace behind.


	38. The Monster Inside Us All

The dream started off as all others, as soon as Luna arrived. It was just white at first, complete and totally whiteness. Then, like a canvas, it began exploding in color.

The prologue began, and I let Luna watch.

" _Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Prince lived in a shining castle."_

A raspberry pink stallion stood at the entrance to the palace. His mane as brushed back, as was his tail. He wore an elegant blue (oddly enough, it was pinstriped) suit. He gave the kingdom a proud smile.

" _Although he had everything his heart desired, the Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar mare came to the castle and offered him a single rose In return for shelter from the bitter cold."_

A mare came up to the palace door. She was dressed in an old gray cloak, with a pink butterfly on the clasp. Her coat was a sickly gray, and her mane was a rat's nest. No, seriously, it was. Her dark turquoise eyes landed on the door. She lifted up a weak hoof, and knocked.

The door opened. The mare held out a single red rose as payment.

The Prince took one look at the mare and slammed the door shut.

" _Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift, and turned the old mare away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for Beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old mare's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress."_

The cloak vanished in a bright pink flash. The Prince opened the door, his eyes going wide at seeing the now beautiful mare.

" _The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world."_

He became… _a dragon_.

" _The Rose she had offered, was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time._

The Prince sat up in his tower, slamming every door in the palace. He tore apart any paintings of his old self, and many of his old suits. Yet, for the Rose, he placed it inside a glass case.

" _As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love...a Beast?"_

==DMLB==

The ballroom was decorated with golden light. I was dressed in a pinstriped blue suit, while Luna was dressed in Belle's yellow one. My head fins were left shaggy, cause I felt like it. Her's was all done up nice.

The two of us met on the stairwell. She looked almost a bit unimpressed.

Lune gave me a teasing smile. "Truly, Raspberry? A dream of Princesses?"

"Hey." I gave a teasing smile back. "It would be sad if I was the Princess. I chose to be the awesome Prince/Beast."

Lune rolled her eyes. We walked down towards the dance floor, and I heard the song playing.

It cut off, like a record player.

"Sorry. The song was kinda boring." I excused. "Mind if we skip the romance?"

Lune shook her head. "It is of no trouble to Us."

I laughed, looking over towards the door. Lumiere Dash, Twilight Cogsworth, Mrs. Rarity Potts, and Spike Chip were simply watching us. Luna laughed, slightly.

"Raspberry, it seems to me you enjoy these dreams for more than just me." Luna began. "You seem to take pleasure in forcing my sister's Prized Student to play silly roles."

"Of course." I chuckled. "My favorite has to be when Twilight was that bunny from Alice in Wonderland."

"Our first night." Luna commented.

This was fun. Simply hanging out with Luna in a dream. "Did you like you're senile old man?"

Luna groaned, putting a hoof to her head. "We are beginning to question your sanity, as well." I laughed. "You made Discord Our Father? What was thou thinking?! We nearly collapsed on that floor in peril!"

"Oh, I wish I could've seen your face!" I laughed.

"Why not Celestia?" Luna asked, almost groaning.

"I'd felt like I had over used the _'Celestia is your parent'_ card." I shrugged. "Thought a change of pace would be nice." Luna laughed. "Did you like Gaston? I thought Gaston Trixie would be cool."

"Pray tell, was this the same Trixie that you bested in a duel?" Luna asked.

I smiled. "Yep." I popped the p. "The very same."

"She was very loud."

"Yep." Popped the p.

"And she spoke oddly." Her eyes widened. "Now halt-"

"Said the pot to the kettle." I laughed, pointing my hoof at her teasingly. "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!"

Luna facehoofed. "Yes. Yes. I speak oddly as well."

"I...can't think of another one." I admitted, the excitement in my voice dropping. It picked back up. "So, tell me, how have things been in Canterlot?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Our Niece has pushed her wedding date again."

I groaned. "When will those two finally tie the knot?"

"What does it mean to ' _tie the knot'_?" Luna asked.

"Back in the old days, beds didn't have metal springs." I began. "They had bits of rope that had to be tied together. In order to make a marriage bed, you had to tie the bits of rope together." I blinked. "I am a walking encyclopedia of weirdness."

"Tis true." Luna teased.

My jaw dropped. She was finally getting jokes. "You're supposed to say 'no, you're not.' Be a good friend."

"I thought good friends were honest with each other." Luna argued. I gaped at her for a second, then started to laugh. "Thou doth laugh too loud." I laughed harder. "Why did that makest thou laugh _more_?"

"They said the same thing about my mom!" I laughed. "That she laughed like a banshee! It's...HAHAHAHA!" I fell to the dream ground of the ballroom, going into hysterics with my laughter.

It took some time, but I finally came down.

"What happened on this day?"

That stopped my laughter dead. "What?"

"When we began, you took me to a realm where the impossible happened every second." Luna began. "To gain my intrigue."

I kinda just watched her explain. Was I really such an open book? Well...it was on my cutiemark...stupid Storyline.

Luna went on. "When thy sister passed, you created no magical world, only a small room of which to partake in celebration." She trotted over towards the windows of the ballroom. "Dreams have more meaning than most ponies believe."

"I know." I said, trying very hard to make it not sounded like a snap.

"On this night, you created a realm where you were a beast." Luna frowned. "And it was the kind mare Fluttershy that turned you so."

I flinched back, almost in pain. "Yes."

"What happened?" Luna asked.

I gulped. The pain of that afternoon hit me hard. I remembered the words of a man, way back when I was a child. "Some things, my friend, are better left unsaid."

Today, I had done _Putting Your Hoof Down_.

Today, Fluttershy gave it to me straight.

Today, for the first time in my whole life, I didn't believe a single hateful word out of her muzzle.

It hurt. It really hurt. I was listening to her words, and realizing it was true. Iron Fluttershy shared how she felt. That was what Fluttershy had been hiding deep inside of her. She told me how she truly felt about me. I had been hearing it for a long time, and it finally stopped hurting.

Three weeks ago (five for me) they had Family Appreciation Day. It was Lilac's turn, because the universe hates me. I was able to get one of Raspberry's aunts. It was the Equestrian version of Aunt Hannah, which made me happy as...just so happy. She was just like I remembered, sadly.

It was sad because I remembered I wasn't actually talking to Aunt Hannah. I wasn't actually with the aunt that showed me _CSI_. This wasn't the aunt that had long nails that always dug into your skin when she tickled you. This wasn't the aunt that felt like the only person I could talk to while on vacation.

Aunt Rose Brilliance did like to paint. She did work in a day care centre. She did get adopted by Poppy and Meme. She did love talking to me.

But, she knew Killjoy. She knew _Killjoy_. That was what really killed me. No one back Home knew she existed. All those other people, people that Darcy has met over the course of her forty or so years, only half knew she was my sister.

Killjoy is a result of my love of cop shows. If not for Aunt Hannah, Darcy wouldn't exist. I could never repay her enough for that. This mare? Not so much.

Story, she even _sounded_ like Aunt Hannah.

The thing was, it was seeing Aunt Rose Brilliance that encouraged me to talk to my mom for the first time since Thanksgiving (two months, human time). We sat on the couch and watched all the _Switched at Birth_ we had been missing. It felt good to actually have her attention for once, and not have her constantly on the phone. Mom was finally paying attention _to me_ , and Merciful Story it felt good.

Back in Equestria, Fluttershy had actually invited me to one of her and Rarity's spa dates. I'm usually not one for gossip, but I actually found myself having a bit of fun with the dressmaker. She was having fun with me. Rarity was becoming my friend.

Rarity and I had a good talk during that trip. She found out about my job, about how I adopted Lilac, about how I really liked to read, and how I occasionally would just start humming if it got too quiet.

The two of us talked about how much Sweetie Belle and Lilac got along. It was actually adorable. We talked about their potential talents (singing for Sweetie, and painting for Lilac) and made little bets as to which one would figure it out first.

Never make a bet with Morgan Spencer. She will kick your ass.

Anyway. Back to the Story. Fluttershy yelled at me for being, well, me. She said I was a tagalong, a liar, and a hypocrite. That I was, frankly, just a really bad pony.

I went to her cottage the next day. When she apologized, I told her the truth. That I had such much worse about myself, and worse than anypony could ever say to me. It was true. No one else can hurt you like you can.

"Something..." I began, trying to think of a way to explain this to Luna. "Something kinda, weird."

"We have all the night." Luna explained.

I smiled, thankful. "I just...I've just been thinking about myself, ya know? About a bunch of crap that messes my head up. My view of myself, and of others." I sighed, running a dream claw over my head. I let out a laugh. One of those sad ones. "I wasn't always like this, ya know. Somepony who tried to avoid friendship. I actually used to be very friendly. Everypony I talked to fell in love with me. A real pony of the ponies."

Wow. Pony sayings are hard.

"Then, some bad ponies did bad stuff, and I...I couldn't see friendship the same. I thought it made me weak, vulnerable, and I didn't like that." I explained to the Night Princess. "I was eight." I let out another sad laugh. "Eight, when they taught me friendship was a bad thing. Nopony wanted to be my friend, nopony wanted to even talk to me, and the only pony who had been my friend left, and it _hurt_." I shook my head. "It hurt a lot."

Lune just nodded, accepting my explanation.

"Now." I gulped. "Now, I'm learning everything I taught myself was a lie. I mean, I knew that it wasn't a real weakness, but there's a difference between knowing something and understanding something."

"You have become very wise." Luna commented. "For one so young."

I could not help it. I literally could not help it. I laughed.

One hundred ninety four. Not much, but it was something compared to the Princesses. I was much older than the other ponies. It was just kinda funny to hear someone think I was young. I could never stop myself!

"Some live more in twenty than others do in eighty." I quoted, thinking it a better answer for the pony who could see how old I actually was. "It just matters on how you use it."

Luna smiled, almost knowingly. "Indeed."

I clapped my claws together. "Now that the heart to heart is over." I wiped my forehead, even though there was nothing there. "Let's carry on with the show!"

The music started back up, and I grabbed Luna's surprised hoof. I dragged her out to the dance floor. I swung her about, which made her start laughing.

Looking over at the objects watching, I was given a happy reminder.

There was no Orange Door.


	39. The Missing Peace In My Heart

During our short walk, I noticed Spike wearing a pink apron and pushing a food cart. I guess it was time for the Dragon Migration. Looking back at Lilac, I thought it was the perfect time to see other dragons.

I followed the purple and green dragon into a clearing, a very large clearing I might add, with a rectangular trench in the middle.

"Hiddy Ho." I greeted. "Excellent day for a migration huh?"

Four mares and one dragon turned to me, all looking angry.

"Right, forgot the outfit." Quickly placing Lilac on the dirt, my horn glowed yellow before giving me my camouflage robe from my closet at home. "Better?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding mad.

"Look, I know some of you are still angry over what happened a couple weeks ago but let me say that I meant no harm. Plus, you guys did the same to me."

"You foalnapped Twilight!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"She tied me up and threw me in her basement all because Future Twilight said I had a hoof in what happened! Foalnapping her back was just my way of returning the favor." I debated. "And I'm here because I thought it would be nice to show Lilac other dragons. She is one after all in case you couldn't tell."

Looking at my adopted daughter, I saw a smile grow on her face. "Really?! Dragons are coming to Ponyville?!" She beamed.

"Yep and I know Sparkle of Twilight won't stop me from watching this once in a lifetime opportunity. Right Twi?"

We all looked over at the purple unicorn, she gave me a semi-harsh look. "Fine." She grumbled.

Not being able to stop her, Lilac ran over and hugged Twilight.

"Thank you Ms. Twilight!" Lilac cheered.

"Aww." I said. "How adorkable."

I walked over towards a nice spot in the dugout. I made sure it was next to Twilight, since the others hated me right now.

"I thought you said you wouldn't help us anymore." Twilight said, coldly.

Holding back a sigh, my head lowered. The two of us had a huge fight while we were in Canterlot. It was pretty clear we didn't want to talk about it. It was a really bad fight. Seriously, I have never had a fight that bad before. Even with Darcy, and she tried murdering me in our last argument.

"I'm not helping you." I told Twilight, trying to copy her tone. "I'm helping Lilac."

The mare turned their backs to me quickly, looking out with their binoculars into the sky.

"I don't see any dragons." Twilight whispered, yet it was loud enough for everypony to hear.

"Me neither." Applejack added.

"Me neither neither." Pinkie smiled, looking thru them backwards. Funny.

"You don't think we missed them do you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No," Twilight began. "I don't think so. We're just a little early and I'm glad we are. This way we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves."

When Twilight said _migration_ I silently counted down from three.

"OH YOU-WHO!" Rarity yelled from a rolling red carpet in her red, yellow and purple camouflage with a big feathery hat. The fashionista reached the trench, letting loose a bunch of streamers into the air as she did. "Well, what do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?"

"Pravissima!" I cheered, clapping my hooves. "That outfit is perfect, for hiding in The Chaos Capital of the World." Rarity shot a glare at me. "Sorry. Compliments sometimes come out as insults. My bad."

"What is _she_ doing here?" Rarity asked Twilight, looking away from me. Twilight's horn glowed pink as the whole carpet and streamers flashed away.

"Raspberry Stardust and Lilac came to see the Migration. Is something wrong with that?"

"Yes. If I recall Twilight she was the mare that took you away to Canterlot two weeks ago without even telling us." Rarity argued.

"She was gonna go on her own Rares, I just sped things up." I tried not to put too much blame on Twilight. Lest we have another fight.

"And how did ya know that Missy?" Applejack asked.

"From the Smartypants incident. Twilight still had a tendency to overreact to things." I turned to the purple unicorn. "No offense meant." The unicorn ignored me.

"It wasn't your decision to make!" Rainbow Dash argued with me.

"You're right. It was yours." I said, struggling to keeping my tone calm. "I'm shocked none of you sent a letter to Celestia about it!"

"Don't you talk about the Princess like that!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Why not? She wants ponies to treat her like one of them. Why shouldn't I call her by her name?"

"It's disrespectful!" Rarity said, lifting her nose in a very sophisticated manner.

"Girls, the dragons!" Twilight's voice yelled above our own. It was then I noticed the dragon's flying overhead.

We watched for a while, our fight forgotten, til Spike handed out treats.

Rainbow started laughing.

"Yeah right Spike! That's one of the scariest apron's I've ever seen! Hahaha!" Rainbow laughed, Pinkie and Applejack joining her.

"What's wrong with wearing aprons?" Spike asked. "You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales!...feathers. That's one tough stain!"

" _One tough stain_ against one lame dragon."

"That wasn't very nice." I growled, not moving from looking up at the dragons. Seriously, I growled like a dog in a junkyard. I could see Lilac backing up from the corner of my eyes. "Fluttershy would be smacking you upside the head for that."

This, of course, went unheard over Rarity's yelling.

"Or act like them." Twilight said. Great, no one is listening to me. That helped my teenage self-esteem.

"My little Spikey Wikey is perfect the way he is." Rarity said.

Ignoring their unknowing insults to the dragon, I turned to mine.

"Lilac, you know I'm proud of you right?"

She nodded her little scaly head.

"I know Mom. I remember Spike during his birthday remember?" Lilac reasoned.

That was a tough day. Lilac actually had nightmares for a week. Spike had tried grabbing Scootaloo's scooter. Lilac hid behind a barrel, but she was still terrified. She knew that it wasn't really Spike. Her crush took a huge dent, though. She still liked Spike.

Lilac. She was always so good.

"Good, cause I don't want my little scaly princess thinking down on herself. As Killjoy would say; criers get slapped." I tried to kill the growing sense of mourning in my chest.

Not the time, emotions, go back to bed. I have bigger issues than my lack of crying.

Not paying attention, I barely noticed Spike leaving in an angry huff.

This was gonna be a long week.

==DMLB==

That night, I was tucking Lilac in for bed. She still looked down about the whole idea of her not being a dragon. No such things were said to her, but I could tell from the look in her eyes she questioned it. Not even a banana nut muffin with rubies on top lifted her mood.

"Mom..." Lilac asked after I finished singing our song.

"Yeah Lilac?"

"Where did I come from?" She asked.

Damn, this is where having limited memory becomes a problem.

"Princess, you crashed into my backyard as an egg. That's all I know, I'm sorry I don't know anymore. It doesn't mean I love you any less." I comforted. Before carefully getting out of her bed, I kissed her forehead. Quietly, I left her room.

Why did I have the feeling this would be the last time I did this for a while?

==DMLB==

Waking up late that morning, I noticed it was lunchtime. Hearing silence come from upstairs I assumed Lilac went to the Corner to get breakfast. It seemed alright. Having a quick daffodil sandwich, I just barely noticed a letter fall from the cabinet.

[quote]

Dear Mom,

Sorry about this, but you're still asleep. I still want to know about the whole _being a dragon_ thing. There's just this big hole in me, the part that wants to know who I am and where I come from.

I've decided to go the library and do some research (that's the word right?). I should be back by the time you wake up.

Love you!

Your little scaly princess

-Lilac

[/quote]

Oh please dear Story no.

Dropping my lunch, I grabbed the note in my teeth and made a beeline for the library. Please don't let it be happening, please no.

I was going so quickly, I could hear people yelling at me for knocking something over. Yelling a quick apology I kept going, not stopping til I nearly broke the door of the library.

"Raspberry!" Twilight screamed.

Looking around, I noticed books everywhere, except in the shelves. Some of them were cleared to make room for a large table where a certain white unicorn was making a certain dragon costume

 _I'm too late_.

"Please...no..." I muttered before falling on my knees, looking straight forward as the thought of what happened came to me.

"Uh...is she okay?" I heard Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't think so." Twilight said. "Raspberry, what are you doing here?" She raised a brow. "You aren't here to he-"

Barely paying attention, I lifted the note in my magic into the purple unicorn's face.

"Oh dear..." Twilight said.

"She went to the Migration, didn't she?" I asked, not even knowing I said them til the words left my mouth.

Twilight and Rarity tried to think of ways not to tell me, I lowered my head into my hooves. Their attempts at hiding it meant she did. Oh dear Storyline...please no...not her...Story please not Lilac...no...don't start crying...Morgan Spencer does not cry!

"Yeah Lilac left. But what you'd expect after last week?" Rainbow Dash said bluntly.

Wow, I never realized how much being blunt like that hurt til now. Wait...what did I say about crying! Tears, go away! Get back in there you stupid droplets of water!

"Rainbow Dash! Why'd you tell Raspberry that?!" Twilight yelled.

"What? She asked." Rainbow shrugged.

"We were trying to spare her feelings." Rarity said through clenched teeth.

"So? After what happened with Discord, I'm not even sure she has any." Rainbow Dash said, again, bluntly. I ignored the burning in my chest.

"Well I do." I said. "I do and it sucks. I do have emotions Rainbow Dash, I'm just great at hiding it." There was a giant lump in my throat, and it wouldn't go down. "No matter what you think about me, that is my daughter out there. She's missing. She ran away to a _Dragon Migration_." Horrible ideas that had been suppressed since I found the note came to me. "They may have had a process where the weakest egg was removed, and Lilac was that egg, and they'll kill her because they think she's still weak. They might use her as food." My eyes started to water in terror. "They might kill her, or make her kill something. Oh my Story, what if they kill her?!" I looked over at Twilight. "Her real parents might find her and decide they want her back. She might say no and then they'll try to kill her. They'll find out she was raised by a pony and try to kill her. How do dragons even kill other dragons? Do they skin them, or do they burn them alive?"

The three mares were looking at me in worried shock. "Raspbe-"

"Lilac might be put through some dragon initiation, and she'll get scared and run, and they'll kill her."

"Woah. Raspberry has a lot of bad ideas." Rainbow commented.

"My daughter is missing and you expect me to think sunshine and rainbows?" I growled. "What is wrong with you?"

"Darling, hold on, let's not do anything we'll regret." Rarity began. "Lilac is going to be fine. Relax."

"Can't." I shook my head. "You guys gotta understand, my mind goes worse case first, and then tries to be optimistic about it or find a way to fix it. I can't really function right now."

Before another word could be said, the emotions that resurfaced became too much. The world went black.

==DMLB==

When I woke up, I was back in my bed. Not my one at Home, the one in Equestria. My subconscious was nice and I didn't have any dreams, I was living a nightmare so I guess that made sense. Now I know what those parents go thru on Castle when their child is missing. It feels like any second somepony will walk thru the door with her-

NO! MORGAN SPENCER DOES **NOT** THINK LIKE THAT!

Crud...I'm crying again.

"Are you okay Raspberry?" A kind and meek voice asked from behind me.

Turning my head, I noticed Fluttershy standing near my bed.

"No." I sniffled.

The pegasus came over to me, gently placing a hoof on my back and rubbing it. "It's gonna be okay. Lilac will come back." Fluttershy said.

Tears fell from my eyes, I rubbed them away with my hoof. I'm gonna end up discording myself at this rate.

"How? How can it ever be alright again?" I choked out. "They're both gone now."

This was still an episode I knew pretty well. Spike goes to the Migration with Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow in a disguised dragon suit. He plays King of the Hoard, belching contest, and Lava Jumping. Finally he goes to smash a phoenix egg, but ends up saving it and keeping it for a pet.

Now, Lilac went with him. To an _all boy gang_ with _dangerous activities_. What if they exclude her because she's a girl? What if she jumps into the fire pit and bursts into flames? What if they make her try and break a phoenix egg? What if they do something worse than break a phoenix egg?!

 _Holy smurf. I'm turning into Twilight. And to top it all off I think I'm starting to hyperventilate._

Sure enough, I was taking huge gasps of air. Smurf I think I'm having a Panic Attack!

"Raspberry, calm down, please. Lilac is going to be just fine. Oh, please calm down." Fluttershy squeaked next to me.

"Can't *gasp* *gasp* breathe *gasp* *gasp* panic attack *gasp* *gasp* *gasp* help."

Panic attacks while Jumping hurt way more than panic attacks while at Home.

Fluttershy decided to wrap one of her wings around me, it slowly calmed me down. One of her hooves began brushing on my mane. The ability to breathe came back after a moment, tears fell quickly down my face. This day was just too fucking much for my fragile mind. Then again, so was the rest of the year.

"Why?" I cried.

"Hmm?" Fluttershy asked.

"Why do I have to be alone?"

193 years I've been alive. 151 years I've been alone. Why did the universe hate me?

"Oh, Raspberry, you're not alone." Fluttershy comforted.

"My family is dead, my daughter is missing, you all hate me, and my life sucks. The universe hates me." Gripping a pillow in my hooves, I shoved my face into it. I felt a hoof run at my back.

"I didn't know about your family." Fluttershy said.

Quickly remembering the research I used for my family, I continued crying into the pillow.

"They died and I wasn't there to help them. My parents. My brothers. My twin sister died because of me. I killed her." I hiccuped. "It was all my fault. Now Lilac is gone, I have nothing left."

Fluttershy continued rubbing my back, moving over so she was lying next to me on the bed.

"I'm sorry." Fluttershy whispered.

"Just leave, it's what everypony else does."

The pegasus stayed silent, but I heard her fly out of my room and close the door.

==DMLB==

 _Twilight Sparkle_

Rarity, Rainbow and I were waiting in Raspberry's living room. It was much cleaner than I expected for her house. The furniture was bold colored with gray carpeting. While Rainbow hovered and Rarity sulked, I was looking at some photos.

There were a few of Raspberry and her family. One was a large pegasus stallion that had a brown coat with black zebra stripes, forest green eyes and a short dark brown mane with a sterling silver stripe. A short blue unicorn mare with a bright blue coat, a bright blonde mane with midnight blue stripes and matching blue eyes. Their cutiemarks were blocked by two colts, one looking like the stallion and the other looking like the mare. The fifth pony was Raspberry, although much younger. The sixth was a pegasus with a dark red coat, silver mane and purple eyes.

The stallion with the stripes must have been her father. I remember Raspberry talking about him some odd months ago. She had said he was a good stallion. That made must be her mother, and those colts are her brothers.

They were all smiling, standing before a home that wasn't this one. Why hadn't I heard about them?

"Mares…"

All our heads snapped towards Fluttershy, we had called her over here when Raspberry fainted.

"Is she alright Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

The butter yellow pegasus shook her head. "The poor mare is beside herself. I tried to talk to her, but she umm… told me to leave."

"Did she say anything?" I asked, worried.

"Oh yes. She said Lilac was all she had. Her family is…well… _gone_."

"So? Let's just go after them and-" Rainbow started.

"Umm…no…Rainbow, when I said gone, I meant _gone_."

The three of us gasped.

"Gone? Oh the poor dear!" Rarity gasped.

"That sounds really bad." Rainbow Dash said, landing on the carpet.

"I can't imagine life without my family." I admitted. "Mares, we have to go after Spike and Lilac. If not for them, then for Raspberry."

The two nodded, we began towards the door and I turned to Fluttershy.

"Try and make sure she stays in the house. Wouldn't want her doing anything she would regret."

Fluttershy nodded, carefully flying back up to Raspberry's room.

We had some dragons to find.

==DMLB==

 _Lilac_

Spike and I had been walking for two days, both of us were pretty exhausted. I think we're close to the Migration, another day or so.

Right now, we were next to a fire Spike had made and eating some gems we brought with us.

"Spike?"

"Yeah Lilac?" Spike said, making sure the fire was still going.

"Do you think Mom misses me?" I asked, staring into the fire.

"Totally, Twilight probably misses me too." Spike sighed.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left." I said, looking back the way we came.

"No. Twilight said it was a good idea. We had to find who we are. Your mom and Twilight understand." Spike reminded me, pulling a blanket out from his bag. "Well, goodnight Lilac."

"Goodnight Spike."

I watched as Spike fell asleep, but I couldn't. So I began humming Mom and me's special song.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan/Raspberry_

 _It was cold. That was all I knew. Just...just cold...and empty...and so dark..._

" _Hehehe..."_

 _Who was that?_

 _Why did it matter? I was alone...cold, and alone...like always...like I should always be..._

" _Tick tock, goes the clock." A voice purred._

 _Darcy left me. She tried to kill me. I ruined her life, I deserved it. I still do._

" _You cradled and you rocked her."_

 _River Song left me. She died. I have her journal in one of my Vaults. The Special Objects Vault._

 _She died. I had to help her die, because I knew that was how she died. How she always had to die. She died for love. She died with people she loved._

 _What about me? I'm alone...again..._

" _Tick tock, goes the clock."_

 _River implied I had someone in my future. A pretty boy all me own. Pfft. Like I was gonna survive that long. It was definitely just a practical joke._

" _She's no longer your daughter."_

 _Lilac._

 _She left me too._

 _Because I couldn't answer her questions. How could I tell her she was a drawing just a few short hours before I knew her? That everything I had done since coming here was a lie?_

" _Tick tock, goes the clock. You gave all you could give her."_

 _I don't want to be alone, but I have to be. I hurt everyone I am near. Darcy, River, Lilac, even Caroline could get hurt by me sooner or later._

" _Tick tock, goes the clock. Now Morgana waits for Morgan."_

 _There was a hiss. Two small glowing orange lights came on overhead._

" _ **BE GONE FROM THIS REALM, FOUL CREATURE OF THE NIGHT!"**_

 _I blinked. "No." I whimpered._

 _The lights went away, being replaced by blue ones. "Dearest friend, what was this? Thou said they had gotten rid of the demon?"_

" _She was going to make it stop." I whimpered. "She was going to make my pain stop. That was our deal."_

" _You made a deal with it?!"_

" _As long as I had my daughter, she would leave me alone." I almost started crying. "I hate being alone!"_

" _You are never alone." The blue lights comforted._

 _I felt something wrap around me. It was wings, the wings of a Princess._

" _I could be in a room full of ponies." I whimpered. "And still feel alone. I make them leave. They all should hate me. I deserve it."_

" _Why dost thou feel this way?" The blue light asked. "You are without a doubt, the pony with the lightest heart. You are kind when most are not, and forgiving when others are hateful."_

" _Send her back. I want her back."_

" _Why? Why would you want that?" Her wings flared. "Why would anypony want to be controlled by a nightmare?"_

" _Because I want to die!" I screamed._

" _Remember the day we met?" The light asked. "You told Us your Rules. What was Rule Three?"_

 _I shook my head. "No! Bring her back! I don't want to be alone!"_

" _So, thou gives up?"_

" _I never give up!"_ _I shouted, then blinked. "I never give up. I make the impossible happen."_

 _There was a wave of pride. It was less cold._

" _Hope is the light that vanquishes all shadows." I went on._

" _Yes." The light smiled._

 _I still felt scared. "Tell me Lilac is okay." I pleaded. "Please."_

" _She is under my protection, my friend. I promise."_

 _==DMLB==_

 _Lilac_

"Alright, teenage dragons! Now that's more my speed. And size." Spike cheered.

I still felt really scared. It was like my first day of school. There were all sorts of big, scary looking dragons around in every color under the rainbow. Well, except pink.

The sky was dusty red, and the entire place felt like the inside of one of those hot tubs at the spa. Dragons were constantly roaring, and spitting out very big bursts of orange fire.

Spike had managed to find a deep looking cavern, where I could see piles and piles of gems. Some topaz, diamonds, sapphires...

Mommy loved sapphires...

"Come on Lilac!" Spike cheered, running down towards the teenage dragons.

I gulped. They looked scary, and mean, like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Slowly, I crawled down the mountain. It took a minute or two, but we made it the bottom.

Spike started walking towards the dragons.

"Spike!" I said, scared of being alone.

The dragon turned back to me. "What?"

I saw the big red one slam the bigger brown one on the dirt. "They look mean."

Spike shrugged it off. "Haha! Nah! They're fine."

I gulped. I was scared, really scared. But if Spike was brave, then I could be too.

The two of us walked towards them, but I got stuck behind some of the dragons.

"Um, excuse me?" All the dragons stopped, and looked down at Spike. They looked mad. "Uh, hi. I'm Spike."

A deep purple dragon with sickly yellow scales came up, looking down at Spike. Maybe? His head scales covered his eyes from view. How could he see?

"You sure your name is Spike and not Shrimp?!" He mocked.

The others all started laughing.

"No, it's Spike! I'm not, I mean, I'm sure about that..."

"You look more like Peewee to me." The giant brown dragon insulted.

"I'm Lilac, in case anyone was wondering." I said, rubbing my arm and scuffing the dirt.

There was some quiet.

"Woah! What's with the brat?" A white dragon with red scales asked.

I felt someone grab my tail, pull me up. I struggled, seeing the giant brown one holding me. I whimpered, curling myself into a ball. My eyes closed right, very scared.

"Bet she got lost looking for mommy." One laughed.

There was more laughter all around from the other dragons. My lip quivered. I wanted Mommy, but I wanted to know more about me. This was a bad idea...

"Hey guys, c'mon, seriously. Leave them alone or they might fly away." The red and orange dragon said. That made the others go quiet.

He must be the Diamond Tiara. He picked Spike and I up by our tails. "That is, uh, if they had any wings!"

He dropped is both to the hard dirt. All the other dragons started laughing again. It made me want to cry.

No! No. Crying means they win. Diamond Tiara was always happy after I started crying. She liked to be mean. I guess dragons are mean too. Well, I mean, these dragons are mean. Some might be nice, I don't want to be rude to them.

The dragons were getting closer to me, so I hid behind Spike. They all laughed again.

"You fly on your mommy's back during the migration?" The brown dragon asked.

"Not exactly-" Spike began.

"No, no, can't you see baby Spike and baby Lilac just hatched?" The purple dragon mocked. "I bet they still sucks their claws at night!"

"No, I haven't sucked my claw in months!" Spike yelled.

I learned from Scootaloo that I shouldn't respond to those. Instead, I just held my tail like it was a blanket.

The dragons just laughed again.

The head dragon leaned in closer, glaring at Spike. I squeaked, and hid behind my tail.

"Well, if you weren't just hatched." He asked. "How come we haven't seen you two around before?

"Oh!" I cheered. This I could answer. I came out from my hiding place and gave the red dragon a big smile. "We live in Ponyville with-"

He just laughed at me. My face fell. He was mean, I forgot.

"Hahaha! Ponyville? That explains it!" He laughed. He turned to the other dragons. "I knew there was something vaguely pony-ish about the two of you!" He stomped towards me, and I started backing up.

Unfortunately, it was right into Spike.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say both of you were part pony!" The dragon said.

With each word, he took another step forward. Soon, Spike and I were pressed against a rock.

"Who, me?" Spike walked around me. "I'm not part pony! I'm all dragon, see? Raar!"

"Y-yeah." I said, weakly. "Roar."

"Or maybe you're a pony in a dragon costume." The dragon mocked. The dragons laughed with him.

"A pony in a dragon costume!" The purple one laughed, hugging the dragon next to him.

It was a...green one? I think. He had gems as scales, two different colored horns, as two dead eyes. Wait...I've seen those gems before...they were Miss Rarity's gems! And those wings, they were Miss Dash's! What were they doing here?

"Aheh... yeah... hilarious." It laughed.

That was Miss Twilight's voice! She must have a cold. Her voice is all funny.

She said it was okay to come. What was she doing here?

Where was Mommy?

"Nnh, I am a real dragon!" Spike said, nearly stomping his foot.

"Me too!" I held up a claw.

"Oh, yeah? Prove it." The red dragon challenged.

"How?" I asked.

He grinned. "By acting like one! Who's up for a little belching contest?"

The dragons all started burping. Eww!

"You think you can beat that, Peewee?" He challenged Spike.

Spike filed, then burped his green fire.

"Huh?" Everypo-Everydragon?- asked.

Funny...it didn't look like a letter from Princess Celestia...it looked like it was from Princess Luna.

The red dragon grabbed the letter, breaking the seal. "From the desk of Princess Luna. Dear Spike, please te– Ha! Get this, guys! Spike's pen-pals with a namby-pamby pony princess!"

I yelped. That was an important letter! I leapt after it, quickly hitting my blue fire with it. That should send it to Mom, or maybe back to Princess Luna. It vanished in a puff of blue fire.

Right then, I knew that was a bad idea.

"Oh! Everybody, look!" Garble announced. I shrunk back, my tail coming around and covering my face. "The little sissy thinks she can just do whatever she wants!"

"No sir." I squeaked. "Never sir."

He glared right at me. It scared me, and I squeaked again. "Why don't you give the belch contest a try?"

I grimaced. "Mommy says it's bad manners to burp."

The dragons laughed.

The red dragon laughed harder. He had to wipe a tear from his eye. "Oh? Your mommy told you?"

I nodded. "And she says if I burp, I have to say excuse me."

The dragon laughed again. This wasn't very fun at all. "You're a little sissy!"

"Am not!" I yelled. Well, that's what Scootaloo said.

"You are!" He mocked.

"I am not!" I stomped my foot. "You're the sissy!"

The dragon glared angrily. Some of the dragons behind him snickered, but were stopped by one look. I shut my mouth, clasping my class over my myth. Bad mouth. You're supposed to be on my side!

He just shrugged, but I knew he was still angry. "Okay. Prove it. Tail wrestling!"

"Yeah!"

The light purple dragon beat the gray one.

"Good old tail wrestling..." Spike said.

I gulped. We were both holding our tails. "Uh-huh."

"You're turn, Sissy!" The red one yelled. I almost started to shake in fear.

"I challenge Lilac to a tail wrestle!" The dragon that was Miss Twilight, Miss Dash, and Miss Rarity said. She sounded really sick. She needs to go to bed!

"Who's this weirdo?"

"I think he's Crackle's cousin."

Crackle looked just like their costume! Except, well, his horns were the same color.

"Oh, that would explain it."

I walked out to the center of the pit, lifting my tail up. I saw one of Miss Rarity's hooves (she always got a special pedicure at the spa, Mommy said so) lift up the tail onto mine.

"Ready? Go!"

I tried to throw off the fake tail, like I saw the other dragons do, but it was too hard. They made a really good tail!

Then, they all just dropped.

"Lilac's the winner!" The dragons all cheered.

I ran over to the fake dragon while they were all cheering. "Miss Twilight, are you okay?" I whispered.

The librarian was hidden inside the costumes mouth. She blinked. "Uhh. Who's Twilight? I'm just a-"

"Are you sick? Your voice is funny. Mommy says ponies voices get funny when they're sick."

Miss Twilight looked like she was gonna argue, but she sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

I shook my head. "I'm good at the details. Those are Miss Rarity's gems, and those are Miss Dash's wings. And, that was Miss Rarity's hoof."

Miss Twilight rolled her eyes, and groaned.

"Hey, Lilac, try wrestling Spike!"

My eyes shrunk. This didn't sound very good.

I walked back to the pit, still worried about Miss Twilight, Miss Dash, and Miss Rarity. Spike seemed just as nervous as did.

I lifted my tail, and he lifted his. It took maybe five second for him to drop my tail to the ground.

"The winner!" The red dragon cheered. "Nice going, little Spike! Maybe you are a dragon after all!"

"Yeah! Maybe I am!" Spike boasted.

I walked back to Miss Twilight. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Miss Twilight just gave me an almost sad look.

"Are we sure she's Raspberry's kid?" Miss Dash asked.

"Rainbow!" Miss Twilight whispered harshly.

"What? The kid's really nice!" Miss Dash said. "And she ran away."

"Miss Twilight said it was okay." I excused, weakly. Mommy said I just had to tell a grown-up, then it would be okay. "Is Mommy in there too?"

It was then I noticed two eye holes, where I could see Miss Dash's pink eyes. "Well, no. She stayed home." Miss Twilight said.

I frowned, sad. "Oh."

"N-Not that she didn't want to be here, darling!" Miss Rarity said. I saw her blue eyes push away Miss Dash's. "She truly wanted to come with us, but...she..."

"Is she sick too?" I asked. "Is that why Miss Twilight is sick?"

"Uh...no." Miss Twilight said. "I'm not sick. I'm just trying to hide my voice from the other dragons."

I heard a loud thud. Turning back, I saw Spike stuck near the top of the cliff. I flinched. "That's a good idea."

Miss Twilight nodded. "Oh! Thanks for saving that letter."

"Mommy says every letter is important." I said. "She told me once that she keeps every letter she gets in a box in her closet!"

"She does?" Miss Rainbow asked.

"Uh-huh!" I cheered. "She calls it her Special Things Box! She even had a bunch of my drawings in it! And the poster from when we did the Talent Show. She has photos of my first birthday, the ribbon from my first present, one of my egg shells, my first tooth, my first scale." I started to get homesick. "And...and a...and a drawing I made and me and her."

Miss Rainbow looked about nervously. "She, she really has all those?"

I nodded. "Mommy likes to keep things. My aunt said it's because Mommy is a...a...I think she said...whole dare?"

"Hoarder?" Miss Twilight tried.

I giggled. "That was it!" I smiled happily. "KING OF THE HOARD!" The dragons yelled.

The four of us flinched. I gulped.

Behind us, there was a giant pile of gemstones. The dragons were gathered around it, one climbing up to the top. Aunt Killjoy taught me how this game worked. We played it on our camping trips. That, and the Diamond Dogs played this game whenever I came.

I ran up to the pile, and began to climb. Aunt Killjoy said it was good to make sure to get a hold on the gems that were firm in the pile. Loose gems would make me fall.

Soon, I was zooming past the others. The red dragon just kept tossing them down, he had apparently been standing at the top.

How would I get him down? He was five times my size!

" _You don't need to be the biggest guy."_ Aunt Killjoy once said. _"Use his own size against him."_

Taking a reassuring breath, I crawled the rest of the way. I crawled to his tail, and pushed it up.

He was fighting against the brown dragon. He turned to see me pushing his tail aside, and then they both fell down the pile.

I looked around, seeing just Spike crawling the pile. I felt a bit better at that.

"KING OF THE HOARD!" I screamed, keeping firm on the top of the pile.

"Hey-" Spike began, before he slipped on a gemstone. He bounced down the pile.

I winced.

"Looks like this is another fail for you, little Spike. Can't wait to watch you fail at lava cannonball, too." The red dragon said.

I crawled down the pile, ending up next to Spike. I saw a red claw pushed in my face, and I flinched back.

"The name's Garble." He introduced himself.

I took his claw and shook it. "I was wondering."

==DMLB==

" _When making a cannonball, kid, you just gotta remember. Stay a ball, stay in the center, and don't be afraid of the jump."_

I was afraid of the jump. No matter how many times I did it, I was always scared of the jump. Aunt Killjoy always had to push me.

I looked over Spike. He looked just as scared as I did.

" _If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?"_ I remember Mommy asking me.

Well, they weren't my friends...

"I'll jump if you do." I promised Spike.

My friend turned to me. He still looked scared, but he was apparently getting close.

"On the count of three." I said.

The two of us walked to the edge.

"What's wrong? You afraid the lava will hurt your soft pony hide?" Garble shouted.

"One." I said.

Then I shoved Spike off. That was what Aunt Killjoy taught me. I jumped off after Spike.

In a blink, we made it to the ground...only...I forgot to stay a ball.

The other dragons all went 'ohh'.

I floated back to the surface, feeling woozy. My eyes were spinning. With a quick head shake, I was back.

"Ugh... Was I... that bad?" Spike asked.

"I can't see straight." I commented.

"No, dude. That was awesome! No pony could live through a belly flop like that!" Garble said. I think it was actually a compliment. "You're one tough little dragon."

Garble turned to me. "And you. That was pretty cool, even for a sissy." He patted my back. "You're alright."

The other dragons nodded their heads.

Huh. This...this was actually getting kinda fun...

==DMLB==

One of the dragons started to play a kazoo. Spike and I walked through an arch made of out their tails.

Garble glared at Spike. "Spike, by belly flopping so hard, you have proven yourself worthy. I hereby dub you 'rookie dragon', and will now perform the initiation ritual."

He used his tail as a sword, tapping both Spike's shoulders. The initiation ritual was apparently just giving him a boogie. Mommy had done that with Aunt Killjoy.

He turned to me. "Lilac, by becoming King of the Hoard, you have proven yourself worthy. I also dub you 'rookie dragon', and you'll perform the initiation ritual."

I smiled, until he picked me up and messed up my head fins.

"Now let's party dragon style!" Garble announced.

==DMLB==

"Alright, Spike and Lilac. Since you're our rookie dragons, you two get to lure the parents away from the nest." Garble said.

"Heh... Lucky me..." Spike mumbled.

I was starting to get scared again.

Garble rolled his eyes. He shoved Spike and I towards the tree. "Well go on, then!"

Spike started waving his hands about. I gave him a wide eyed look. This was crazier than when Scootaloo wanted to skydive!

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix! I was hoping I could have a word with you? Um, I'd, um, like to ask you some questions actually..."

"We haven't got all day, Spike!" Garble whispered harshly. He dropped a rock in Spike's hand.

He threw it at the nest. "Hey, you bird brains! Come and get me!"

The Phoenixes did not look happy. I immediately ran and hid behind a tree.

I waited behind there until I couldn't hear the Phoenixes anymore. Scared, I leaned out to make sure the coast was clear. Sweetie Belle and I would have to do this if Scootaloo felt like having a water balloon fight.

Garble and his two friends were surrounding the nest. They looked like they were looking for something.

"What the..." Garble said.

I heard some chirps. Oh! They must be new Phoenixes! Were the dragons gonna take them to the Migration? Are Phoenixes pets for dragons?

Then, why does Princess Celestia have one? Is she a dragon too?!

"The eggs have hatched." The purple one said.

"What do we smash now?" The brown one asked.

They're gonna do **WHAT**?!

"We take the hatchlings, of course!" Garble yelled.

There were some more chirps. I was able to see some baby Phoenixes flying about, and then a twisted up Garble.

I giggled a bit, hiding behind the tree and covering it with my claw. I learned that playing Hide 'n Seek.

"Get 'em!" Garble growled.

The three dragons flew off, breaking apart the nest.

I frowned. That was there home! Those dragons are a bunch of bullies!

Suddenly, I saw a bright orange egg fall above my head.

I gasped. They must not have noticed it. I caught the egg, holding it close. They were gonna smash it!

"It's okay." I patted the egg. "I'm not not let the bullies get you."

Matching sure the dragons were gone, I looked at the next wreckage. I walked over to it, making sure to hold the egg in one arm.

I tapped my chin in thought. There has to be a way to fix this. Mommy taught me nest building for Winter Wrap-Up. So it should be easy enough.

Pulling together all of the sticks, I began putting the nest back together. The egg was held carefully by my tail, since my arms were too busy re-making It's home.

Here and there, I had to use just a bit of my dragon fire to mend it. There. A brand new nest. Using my tail, I put the egg inside of the nest. It shook a little.

I gasped. "He must be cold!" I took in a big bunch of air, and blew some nice warm fire on the Phoenix egg. "There you go!" I patted him on the top.

To protect it, I sat next to the egg. I kept on alert, looking over the forest. No dragon was getting to this egg!

I heard a crunch in the bush. My tail instantly covered the egg, glaring at whatever was coming.

"Oh. Hi Spike!" I cheered, waving at him.

Spike tilted his head. "Huh, what have we got here?"

I was about to tell him, when the meanie dragons showed up. I tried to act tough, and glare. My tail stayed wrapped around the nest.

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"They got away!" Garble growled. "Hey! You stole an egg?" He looked at me.

I hissed at him, guarding the egg with my body.

The other dragons flinched back. "Woah! Lilac, what are you doing?" Spike asked.

"They were gonna smash it!" I hissed, glaring angrily at the dragons.

Garble's eyes widened, and he glared back. "Well, yeah! What else are you gonna do with a Phoenix egg?"

I got really angry. My eyes felt like the turn into slits, and my forked tongue came out. There was a dark hiss. The dragons started to back away.

"It's just a defenseless egg, like I was! And I'm not gonna let you hurt it!" I screamed.

Garble growled. "What did you say?"

"Not a chance, bully!" I growled.

He started stomping towards me. "No one says no to me."

 _ **GROWL!**_

Garble backed away, looking almost terrified. "W-wha-"

I let out another loud growl. **"Not. A. Chance!"**

With each word, I noticed Garble got smaller and smaller. Or, I got bigger and bigger. The egg was still safe behind me, and I was gonna make sure of that. No bully is touching him!

" **STAY AWAY FROM MY EGG!"** I growled loudly at Garble and his friends.

They were almost starting to shake.

"B-but you're just a kid!" The purple one argued, weakly.

I glared at him. He shrunk away.

"It's just a stupid egg!" The brown one added.

I growled, feeling myself get bigger. Once I felt the growing stop, I roared at the three bullies.

" **STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"** I ordered.

To further prove my point, I blew out my blue fire at them. Once the flames faded, I saw the dragons were gone.

Satisfied, I curled around the even smaller Phoenix egg. It started to shake again, so I blew more fire onto him.

"Lilac?" Spike asked.

I turned to him. He looked really tiny, almost like a bouncy ball. I glared at him, to remind him not to touch the egg.

He backed up. "I didn't know they wanted to smash it! I don't want to!"

Still wary, I curled around my makeshift nest.

"Stay away from-woah!" I heard a new voice.

I snapped towards it, hissing protectively.

It was Miss Dash. She was looking at me in confusion. "Uh. Guys, I found Lilac!"

"Where is she? Is she behind the-Sweet Celestia!" Miss Rarity said. Then, I think she fainted.

"They were gonna smash the egg!" Spike yelled at them. "Lilac kept it safe!"

I wrapped my tail around the nest. My eyes scanned the forest for any of those dragons.

"Of course!" I heard Miss Twilight say.

"What about this makes sense?" Miss Dash asked.

"Lilac sent that letter to me. I read it over, and it was from Princess Luna! It was what she knew on dragons. She said females were very protective of their young."

"But, that eggs not Lilac's." Spike pointed out.

I roared at them. It didn't matter. I was going to take care of this egg!

"Well, Princess Luna said they tend to-"

The egg shook. I blew more fire on him, and the nest. That should keep him warm. I snuggled tighter, resting my bigger head on my arms.

"-tend for any egg that falls into their care. Lilac must have gone into a growth spurt based on her instincts!" Miss Twilight explained.

Miss Dash rolled her eyes. "That's really great, Twilight, but how are we gonna get Lilac back to Raspberry if-"

My head snapped up. Mommy? Why were they talking about Mommy!

Miss Rarity woke up. "Oh. I had the strangest dream. We were in the Dragon Migration and Lilac was-"

"Mom?" I asked, my voice sounding older and deeper.

Miss Rarity squeaked, and fainted again.

"Yes!" Miss Twilight shouted. She ran into my eyesight. "Raspberry! You remember Raspberry?" I blinked, wary of all these creatures around my egg.

"Uh, remember her Special Things Box?" Miss Dash asked.

I almost started to smile. Mom kept a lot of my old stuff in that box.

"Your first tooth? First scale?" Miss Dash went on. A smile finally came to my face. "Well, your mom sent us to come get you. She was really worried about you, Lilac."

I tilted my head.

The pegasus nodded. "Yep. She's worried sick about you!"

I gasped. I knew Mom was sick!

The world around me returned to normal, but I kept a protective stance in front of the egg. "Mom's sick?" My voice was back to that little squeak, but it sounded just a bit older.

The two ponies and dragon exchanged almost worried glances. Miss Twilight walked up to me, slowly. "Yes, and she wants you to come home."

I thought it over.

I picked up the egg, and held him tight. "Then take me home, please."

==DMLB==

Miss Twilight was walking me back home, my bag clutched closely to my back. It was nice to be back home.

"Is Mom okay?" I asked Miss Twilight, looking up at her purple eyes that reminded my of my aunt.

My guide looked up at my home, she looked scared. "No. She's not. But you're safe and that's probably all she'll care about."

Looking back at our wooden door, I gently pushed it open to take careful steps inside.

The house seemed grayer than when I left, like all the colors were Discorded.

"Mom? I'm home." I called. It was silent. "Mom? Are you here?"

A loud thump came from upstairs, making me and Miss Twilight jump in surprise. I heard more thumps and caught a bit of Mom's tail.

"Lilac!" Mom cried when she jumped up from nowhere and wrapped her hooves around me.

I wrapped them around her, gripping tightly into her soft raspberry fur. "I'm sorry I left Mom." I told her as tears leaked from my eyes.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. You're okay. That's all the matters right now. I'm so happy you're okay." Mom cried, a few tears hitting my scales.

She rubbed my scales, I did the same to her fur. We stayed like that until Miss Fluttershy and Miss Twilight left and we got hungry.

"How about we get some hay fries and pizza? I've never been so hungry. Plus, I think I need some kind of food or I'll pass out." Mom said, letting go of me enough so that she could look me in the eyes. "I wanna hear all about this whole Expedition you went on."

"I'm so sorry I left Mom. I just had to-"

"No. No apologies. If I apologized every time I did something wrong, I would still be apologizing now. So lets get something before we both collapse. My treat." Mom laughed.

"It's always your treat, I don't have any bits." I giggled, wiping a tear from my eye.

Mom laughed too, her horn glowing amber and lifting me onto her back.

It felt so nice to be back.

==DMLB==

Dear Princess Luna,

Hello. My name is Lilac Melody Stardust. I am five years old. I am a dragon. I am a lilac purple dragon, with midnight blue scales. I like to paint, and sometimes I color.

My mom is Raspberry Stardust. She takes care of me, gives me food, a nice bed (with pale pink sheets and fluffy pillows, I asked!), and makes really good macaroni and cheese.

(Don't ask for her for her sandwitches. She adds too much peanut butter!)

I wanted to know where I [s]co[/s] came from, so I went to the Dragon Migration with Spike. The dragons were mean, and rude, and great big bullies.

Mom told me (before we came to Ponyville) that home is right where you planted it. I thought she meant actually plant it (is that how Miss Sparkle got her house, Princess?) but now I know it means: home is wherever I want it to be.

Mom is my home. Those bullies said my mom was a pony, and that made her weak. That made me weak too.

They don't know Mom gets really sad sometimes. Her friend don't see it, either. She was really sad after they started yelling at her for taking Miss Sparkle to Canterlot. It hurt her feelings really bad.

She had a big fight with my Auntie. I haven't seen Aunt Killjoy in a few months, so I know the fight was really bad. Mom doesn't even go into Aunt Killjoy's room to make sure she left nothing [s]danj[/s]dangerous behind. She wants to cry, but I know she won't.

She's always really nice. She talks to all of the foals at school after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon (I drew you a little picture. Diamond Tiara is the pink filly with goat horns, and Silver Spoon is the silver filly with a stick in her braid!) make fun of us. She doesn't want to see foals cry, cause it makes her cry.

If that's what it is to be weak, than I want to be weak too.

I'm running out of space to write.

Bye!

Lilac Melody Stardust, age 5

==DMLB==

Once my letter was done, I heard the little egg start to shake again. Oh no! It was cold again.

Just before I could blow any fire, I heard it start to crack. I tilted my head I curiosity.

A tiny little phoenix popped out from the egg. I smiled. He hatched.

The hatchling hopped up onto my shoulder. I gently brushed a call on his new feathers.

"Hi." I smiled, happy. "Mom, he hatched!"

My mom was there in seconds. She wrapped a hoof on my shoulder, looking down at the new phoenix. She smiled. "Welcome to the Stardust Clan, chickadee."

I giggled. "Mom, that's not his name!"

Mom gave me a confused look. "Oh? Then what is?"

"He's Peewee!" I cheered, holding him up. I smiled at him. "Stick around with me, Peewee. I've got a lot to teach you about being a pony!"

I could feel Mom's smile.


	40. The Prophecy

I am not trying to spread any kind of Christian propaganda. This was just an idea that came to me, so I went with it.

==DMLB==

Wednesday. They weren't my favorite day of the week, but it wasn't my least favorite either. They were in the middle of the week. Criminal Minds and CSI came out on Wednesdays. But, before I could even get ready for the show, I had to go to youth at my church.

Going to church was always a problem with me. It was boring when I was a kid, stupid and boring, but my dad being a preacher I knew I had to go. The only cool part was being allowed to go to Sunday School, then I would just play Veggietale songs. So, for an hour, I would listen to the same old songs and the same old speeches.

My parents changed churches when I was eleven. It was in an old office building. Well, I think it still was an office building. During the week it was a construction company, or something, and on Sunday it was a church, and on Wednesday it was a Youth Ministry.

Youth was kinda the same every week. Bring a bible, a water bottle, your phone, and a charger, and you were set. We sang a worship song, the leader talked about a bible verse, then the rest of the hour would be spent with everyone talking. It was led by Mr. Armsy, a man I have known since I was three months old. He got married two years ago, so his wife would come to Youth.

Ms. Armsy was born in Virginia, and it showed. He was big, kinda like my dad. He was pale. He had ginger hair, that was all floppy. He had a beard too, he grew it out some years ago. He always wore a faded plaid shirt, and torn up jeans. His glasses covered his brown eyes, resting on his giant nose.

Mrs. Armsy was pretty. She was thin, but had some meat on her bones. She had light brown hair falling to her shoulders. She usually wore a nice dressy shirt, with a long skirt that reached her ankles. Her eyes were brown too, but a darker shade. She wore...I guess we call them 'hipster glasses', except she actually needed them.

Where we sat all depended on how Mr. Armsy felt. The church wasn't very big, about the size of two classrooms. There were two doors: one connecting to the rest of the building, and one connecting to the nursery. Chairs were placed so people could see the pastor's sermon, and could be moved depending on the event. Sometimes we would sit out there in the Main Room, or we would sit in the Nursery. It could fit the chairs in, surprisingly.

Mom would always drop us off, since I didn't have my license here. Not even a Stor-stupid permit. Oh. That 'stop swearing' thing is working!

The kids who came were mostly kids from my school. You had to be at least thirteen to attend youth, so it wasn't much. Charlie, the troublemaker with daddy issues. Penny, Charlie's tagalong who had a _'secret'_ crush on him. Adrian, the lazy one who liked food. My brother, Derek, the Golden Child. Bennett, the drummer. Tyler, the drummer's best friend.

These were the regulars. These were my peers. Aren't I the lucky one?

Me? I was the unstable girl who sometimes dressed in black. I was the one always on my phone. I was the one who barely said a full sentence on a bad day. I was Derek's older sister. I was Mr. Spencer's only daughter, the Preacher's Daughter.

Mr. Armsy put down his guitar, finished with the song. The other kids actually looked a bit excited. Meanwhile I was sitting on the nursery's old couch, working on some of the final details for the Wedding. I still had the problem of figuring out what to do about Mia and Twilight in the Catacombs.

"Guys." Mr. Armsy said, his voice having a slight Southern twang to it. It was actual a comfort. "This week, we thought we would do prophetic word first." Okay. Time for Christianity lesson. Prophetic word is God telling us stuff. Lesson over. "Could everyone close their eyes while Olivia-" His wife. "-prays over us?" The others gave noises of approval.

Just wanting to get it over with, I shut my eyes.

' _There was an image. It was just of Garfield the cat.'_ I blinked. It felt I only had half the picture. Like it was hiding something from me. As a girl who had psychic visions for a few years, I can tell when it's not the full message.

"Alright, what words did people get? Morgan?"

That's what I get for sitting next to Mr. Armsy. Curse my need to sit on this really comfy couch. "I got Garfield the cat." I shrugged, not entirely caring.

"Wow. That's interesting." Mr. Armsy cheered, going on the person next to me on the couch. "Penny?"

It took the girl a second with her response. She stuttered a bit before finally getting the right words out. "I saw a dragon, but it was light purple. And, it's fire was bright blue instead of orange."

Huh...just like Lilac.

"Huh. Cool. Charlie?"

"I saw someone climbing up a mountain, and then there was an avalanche." Charlie explained.

"And what?" Mr. Armsy asked.

I rolled my eyes. It was an unspoken rule in these things. You have to say something nice. Not violent, like the person dies.

"But," Charlie stammered. "God came and protected them. Helping the person up the mountain."

"Adrian?"

Looking over at Adrian, I wondered what he got this week. Every week, no matter who we were getting this messages for, Adrian always got food. Not apples or bananas. It was burritos, tacos, and hot pockets. Stuff he probably had for lunch.

"Um...I saw...a raspberry."

' _First Lilac, and then raspberry?'_ I thought, looking over at the other people who hadn't gone yet. _'I'm a little concerned now. Never ignore a coincidence.'_

"A raspberry?" Mr. Armsy asked.

"Yeah...it was kinda big, and it fell from...wherever it is that raspberries grow." Adrian explained.

Mr. Armsy 'ah'd'. "Very nice, Adrian." He turned to my brother. "Derek? What did you get?"

Derek straightened out in his chair. "I saw something, and I heard something."

"That's great!" Mr. Armsy cheered. "How about you tell us what you saw, then tell us what you heard?"

"Okay." Derek nodded. "I saw...what looked like...a large car...the person was driving with someone, but then person disappeared. But then more people got into the car, almost too much. They had to sit up on the roof of the car, in the trunk, on the floor." Derek chuckled. "Kinda everywhere."

Everyone in the room chuckled, the mental image of that many people in a car making us laugh. It was probably like a bigger version of a clown car.

"Now, what do you think that means, Derek?" Mr. Armsy asked. "That this person will take an overcrowded car on a road trip?"

"No." Derek shook his head. "This person was alone, but then he... or she, I don't know...wasn't alone anymore. I kinda reminded me of that song, _Jesus take the wheel_."

"Very nice." Mr. Armsy said, dragging out the very. "And what did you hear?"

Derek nodded. " _'I will always have your back'_."

' _Call Hallmark. Let's make a card out of that.'_ I thought, almost rolling my eyes.

"Tyler? Bennett? You two get anything?" Mr. Armsy asked the last two teens that hadn't spoken.

"Uh." Bennett began. "I got...uh...a flower..."

"A flower?" Mr. Armsy.

"Yeah. I don't know what it's called, but it was purple. Like the dragon. And it was kinda bunched together." Bennett said, pointing at Penny.

My eyes widened.

"How do you know it's the same purple?" Penny asked.

"It was...was light purple."

"Lilac." I said, to the confusion of the others in the room. "The color light purple is either lilac, lavender, or pastel. Pastel isn't a flower, and lavender is a little darker than lilac." I explained. "The flower was a lilac."

"Lilacs are a symbol," Mrs. Armsy commented. "It's said they mean the coming of spring, which means new life." She wrote in down on her notepad. "I also got lilacs."

I gulped. This didn't sound good. I was getting very nervous.

"Huh." Mr. Armsy looked around the room. "That's interesting. Tyler, did you get anything?"

Tyler nodded. "Um...I saw a horse, it was brown, and it's hair was-"

"Mane." I corrected. "A horse's hair is called it's mane."

"It's _mane_ ," Tyler rolled his eyes. People hated when I corrected them. I wouldn't need to if they got the facts right. "was black."

Mr. Armsy nodded, looking over towards his wife. "Did you get all of that, Olivia?" Mrs. Armsy nodded. She lifted up the notepad, covered with the things my fellow teens said.

"Well, the Lord showed me a tiger, with raspberries in his mouth." Mr. Armsy explained. The youth minister turned to his wife. "Do you know who these words are for?"

' _Story, if you care about me at all, don't give them to me.'_ I thought, mentally crossing my fingers.

"Yes I do." Mrs. Armsy tore off the paper, folding it up. "They go to...Morgan."

' _I'm going to kill you, Story. I swear.'_ I thought.

"Here ya go, Morgan." Mrs. Armsy said, handing the paper over to me.

"Do you know what those words mean?" Mr. Armsy asked.

Slowly, I nodded. I took the paper from Mrs. Armsy, staring at it like it had done me a great wrong. I read the list over.

 _Garfield._

 _A purple dragon breathing blue fire._

 _Someone climbing a mountain during an avalanche, and God helping the person up the rest of the way._

 _Raspberries._

 _A person driving alone in a car, and then the car is filled with people. Jesus Take the Wheel._

 _I will always have your back._

 _Lilacs._

 _A brown horse with a black_ _hai_ _mane._

 _A tiger with raspberries in it's mouth._

I don't know what scared me more. The tiger with raspberries in it's mouth, or the car filled with people.


	41. The Wedding to End All Invasions

**I'm actually really proud of myself for this chapter. I think it went really well.**

==DMLB==

Once Lilac and I got off the one-hour train ride to Canterlot, I looked around the giant pink sphere covered the city. I was barely able to see the clouds or the blue sky.

Lilac was on my back, still reading a book. It was strangely similar to those Berenstain Bears books, but some bears could fly or use magic. Kinda funny. She had spent the past three days packing her bags for today. I managed to convince her that she didn't really need to bring her entire painter's tools, paint, easels, and smock to Canterlot.

She was asked to be a Flower Filly. Actually, all of the Crusaders were. I had told Mia about them months ago, and she instantly loved the idea of the four fillies helping out. Those four had a ton of fun deciding what cutiemarks they might get for helping at a wedding.

I had been spending the past few months getting the details finalized for today. Most of the pieces are in place, but there are still a few details I need to skim over. It was just the last thing, the biggie. The rest would be easier than building a rocket!

Walking towards the castle, I thought about how I would basically be lying to Shining Armor. He was my friend now, I am happy to say. I had bonded with him over, well, being the elder sibling. I had a ton of good blackmail stories on Twilight. Shining was a cool dude, and a bit of a nerd (Twilight's brother, what was I expecting?) with some knowledge of comic books.

Mia's my friend too. Right now, she could be unconscious underneath Canterlot. She might be undergoing psychological torture, similar to Twilight's. I hated the thought. On my last visit, I made sure to give her something that would help her get home. I just hoped she would follow the instruction I gave her.

Lilac nearly squealed. "Mom, is the wedding gonna be boring?"

"Princess, I have gone to hundreds of weddings in my life." I said. "Of them, only three were boring. This one is gonna be a blast."

Lilac sighed, lying against my back. "When do the others get here?"

"Three days." I said, waiting for the guards to let me pass.

"Miss Stardust." The guard acknowledged.

I gave him a once over. "Iron Defense, right?"

The guard shook his head, looking impressed. "How can you tell us apart?"

"It's a gift." I shrugged. They lifted their spears, and I walked through.

"Three days is a long time!" Lilac groaned.

"You have your paints." I explained. "Once we get up to the room, then you can paint Canterlot. Maybe Copper Spear can take you there."

"Why do you know all the guards names?" Lilac asked.

I smiled at my daughter. "Names are important, Lilac. One missed name could mean one lost friendship."

Lilac nodded. "Oh!" She scratched her head with her claw. "So, you're their friend?"

"Acquaintance."

"A-whatice?"

"Almost friend." I clarified. "I learned to tell them apart, that's the first step. Figuring out who they really are, is the next."

"Wow. Friendship sounds complicated." Lilac said.

"No, you've got it figured out." I said. "Three amazing friends. That's more than I had at your age."

Lilac seemed even more confused. "You were _my_ age?"

"Raspberry!" Shining cheered. "Hi!"

I smiled, both at Lilac's childlike attitude and Shining's greeting. "There's the happy groom. You excited for your wedding?"

The unicorn just smiled. "I still can't believe she said yes. It's almost too good to be true."

"Dude, Mia loves you. If she said no, I would've lost a bet." I said.

Shining rolled his eyes. "And you never lose a bet."

"Never." I said.

"Shiny!" Lilac shouted, jumping off my back and running to the guard.

The groom to be grinned. Lilac hugged him, a giddy smile on her face. "Hey Lilac." He greeted. "How are you?"

Lilac smiled, nearly hopping. "Really good! Princess Cadence made me a Flower Filly!"

Shining Armor grinned, letting out a short chuckle. He ruffled Lilac's head fins. "I heard. She's really excited you girls are going to be there."

Lilac was beaming.

"Princess, how about you head on up to our usual room?" I said. I looked up at Shining. "Shiny, can you call Copper Lance down here?"

The guard captain shook his head, looking as impressed as Iron Defense. "How can you tell my guards apart?"

' _The first part is easy. Three pony tribes, narrows it down. The next is what color they are. The white guards usually mean their coat colors are normally very bright, gray means they were darkly shaded. Also, it helps to get a peek at your schedule when I come so I can see which guards are in.'_

I blinked. "A lady never kissed and tells."

With that, I began my mission.

==DMLB==

I was sitting in the tea room, the one I where showed Cadence the glamour spell. It was very boring, but it gave me time to think over my Plan.

"Mia!" I sang, calling out for her. "Oh where, is Princess Mia? Oh where, is Princess Mia? Oh where oh where, oh where oh where, oh where! Is Princess Mia?" Rule 63: Sing the hairbrush song when looking for things.

"Could you cease that horrible singing?!" A voice snapped.

I turned towards the door, seeing them being pushed open by the guards. "Ah!" I squeaked.

There, standing in the doorway, was Queen Chrysalis.

No. I don't mean _Chrysalis disguised as Cadence_. I mean the actual Queen of Changelings, in all her carapace glory.

She was nearly as tall as Celestia, the crooked horn adding extra inches. Her name was a sickly dull blue, hanging off her head lifelessly. It had some holes, which made me consider if it was even hair. One strand was right between her eyes. Those were blue green, fading down to light green. She had black slits in place of pupils. She was giving me a cold glare. Her fangs were bared in her black muzzle, making her look like I woke her up from her nap.

The rest of her seemed normal enough, for a changeling. A dark green saddle/carapace thing on her back, holding her broken up insect wings. Her hooves were filled with holes, especially near the bottom. Her tail was the same blue as her mane. It fell on the ground, practically dragging across it.

I noticed her crown last, it having been hidden behind her horn. It was pure black, probably onyx. The gems with the same color as her hair, four in total.

Overall, she looked kinda freaky. Not scary, per say, but not friendly either. A true drama queen if I had ever seen one.

"What?" She asked. Woah. That was Mia's voice. She wasn't wearing her disguise, but was disguising her voice? I am confused. "Why are you screaming? Why are you _singing_?" She looked me over. "What do you want?"

I gulped. Okay. Bit of a curveball. There has to be an explanation for this. Maybe...maybe I could see through the disguise? Does that even make sense? It could. My being a Jumper has let me see things other don't, or can't.

She had to be wearing her disguise. The guards were around. She may stupid, but not that stupid.

Okay. Plan, Raspberry, remember the plan. Stick to the plan.

"My name is Raspberry Stardust." I held out my hoof. "And I can help you with your invasion, Queen Chrysalis."

The Queen's eyes widened. She walked the rest of the way in. The doors were encased in her green magic, slamming shut. She gave me a warning look. "How can you possibly think-"

"Cadence's magic is blue." I pointed out. "Your magic is green. Kind of a dead giveaway."

Chrysalis raised a brow, looking up at her still glowing horn. "Oh?" She started to growl. Her magic grabbed my neck, tagging me towards her. Her body covered itself in green flames, and I knew her disguise was actually fading away. She pulled me up so I was staring right into her harlequin eyes.

"And just how did you know about the invasion?" She demanded. She dragged me away a few inches.

"Haven't you heard? I'm a genius." I said, remembering my plan.

The Queen rolled her eyes at me. Her magic dragged me closer to her. "And just what could you do to help me?"

I took a quick breath. "Your plan is to put Shining Armor under your control, draining him of his magic and love so you can break his shield. I bet you were planning some kind of attack, but maybe one of your drones slipped up?" Chrysalis glared, slightly. I was right. "Before you could get your Hive in, the shield went up. You had to find some way around it, and what better way than to take down the head guard?" I pretended to think it over. "Without the amount of magic he has, it should be ready by...oh...the wedding ceremony? Right after you say your 'I do's' I bet."

Chrysalis held me farther away. I took another breath. Showing off was so much fun. "You're a shapeshifter, so it's not possession. You could've been the kind that needs a temporal link, but I doubt that. Usually those are clones. That means Cadence is still alive somewhere. Underneath Canterlot, I presume? You don't like getting your hooves dirty, so I bet you have plans to let something else take care of the Princess."

She buzzed, flashing her fangs. "How could you possibly know that?"

"A mare once said 'only a killer would know that'." I stated, remembering the words of that Slitheen. "It's a bit rough around the edges, but doable."

"What?" Chrysalis laughed. "You think you could come up with better?"

"I _did_." I taunted. "I pieced together your plan five minutes into meeting you, _but_ I'm a genius. Those idiots can't possibly figure it out. You need me to keep it that way."

The Queen thought it over. She walked towards the couches, dropping me on one. "You haven't given me reason to trust you."

Now came the hard part. The bit of truth that made the lie more believable. "I've been spending months getting closer to these guys so I can get my plan in motion. Do you know how boring Mia's taste in tea in? Or what she does on a typical day? It's exhausting." I sighed, loudly. Had to sell it.

"You would betray your friends so easily?" Chrysalis asked.

I smirked. This was the hardest part of the whole lie. "At what point did I say they were my friends?"

==DMLB==

"Well, doth my eyes deceive me!" I cheered loudly, seeing Twilight standing near Shining Armor.

Twilight stiffened. She turned carefully, and gaped at me. "Raspberry?!"

I grinned, trotting up next to Shining. "Hey Shiny Hiney." I looked between the two of them. "Huh. Always thought I saw a family resemblance."

Shining just laughed. "I was just talking about you, Raspberry."

I gave him a warning look. "Better be good stuff, Shining." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes. "Just telling Twilight that you were Cadence's Mare of Honor."

"And she knows Cadence?" Twilight groaned.

I gave Twilight a cheeky smile. "Oh. Yeah. Did I forget to tell you? Met them during the Gala."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." A formal voice said.

I skipped over to the Changeling Queen. "She has no idea." I whispered.

To prove my point, Twilight came over. "Cadence! Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Cadence just blinked. "What are you doing?"

Twilight gave Cadence a perplexed look. "Cadence, it's me, Twilight!"

Cadence just gave her a blank look. "Uh-huh." She turned to me. "What's happening?"

I shrugged. "I'm a little confused myself, to be honest." I shrugged.

The disguised Queen rolled her eyes, walking up to Shining Armor. The stallion wrapped a good over her shoulder. Shining smiled at her.

Focus on the Plan.

"I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadence will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going." Shining explained. "I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here." He looked down to the queen. "Right, dear?"

Chrysalis grinned. "Absolutely."

Shining Armor seemed pleased. "Well, we'll let you get to it." The two walked off.

Twilight glared at me. She leaned in close. "What are you up to?" She asked.

I grinned, almost evilly. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

==DMLB==

I smiled, taking a sip of my fruit juice. Lilac sat beside me, playing with the cake toppers she and Spike swiped from the kitchen.

So far, everything was going just fine. I had stuck by Twilight's side for most of the day, watching Chrysalis show off her horrible acting skills. It was all pretty funny, if I thought about it. It was kinda hard hiding my laughter as the day went on.

It was just weird. I had gotten to know Mia pretty well, so I knew how she would react to these things. It was me that recommended everyone here for the wedding, and Cadence didn't completely approve until I shared some things from all of them. I bought some of AJ's treats, I showed off the dress Rarity made me, I brought pictures from Pinkie's other parties, and some of Rainbow Dash at the award show that Killjoy took.

Cadence knew these mares were good at what they did, and would love them all no matter what. Little secret, she loves the Pony Polka.

"So, you've been the Princess' friend since you met at the Gala?" Fluttershy asked.

I nodded, putting my drink down on the table. "Yeah. She's really cool."

"Oh." Fluttershy smiled, nervously. "Yes, I think she's cool, too."

Rarity squealed excitedly. "I just cannot get over it!" She smiled right at me. "One of our friends was a friend to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! How were you not bursting with excitement? If I were that close to a princess, I don't think I would be as quiet!"

"Let's just say I'm great at keeping things a secret." I said, taking another sip of my drink. "Cadence has been excited for this wedding practically since I met her, and I've been helping her plan most of it."

"You have?" Applejack asked, sounding skeptical.

"Who do you think told her about you?" I asked.

The mare's jaw dropped.

Before that could say more, Twilight walked up to the table. "Bet I can guess what you're all thinking." She said in a cheery voice. Her smile dropped. "Cadence is the absolute _worst_ bride-to-be ever."

Lilac held up her Cadence toy. "Who, me?

Applejack looked down at her. "Lilac! That goes on the cake." She scolded.

"But Mom said I could play with them." Lilac said, pointing at me.

I leaned close to her. "If you don't let Applejack know you have them."

Lilac blushed. "Oh."

Rarity gave Twilight a curious look. "Twilight, whatever are you talking about? Cadence is an absolute gem!" She smiled.

"Rarity, she was so demanding!" Twilight argued.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Well, of course she is! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?" Rarity pointed out.

Twilight frowned, face hoofing. "Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors d'eouvres, she threw them in the trash?" She pointed out.

Applejack shrugged it off. "Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelin's."

"No, she was just being fake and totally insincere!"

Fluttershy spoke up. "She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal."

Twilight grinned. "See? Rude!" She bragged.

Fluttershy lifted up said bird. "But he was singing really off-key."

The bird squashed loudly. I winced. He really needed to get himself checked up. That sounds like a serious problem.

Twilight was grasping at straws. "Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadence treated-"

Apparently, Lilac had been convinced to let Pinkie Pie play with her Cadence toy. It was probably after Applejack called her out. The two were making kissing noises, pushing Shining and Cadence together.

Twilight frowned. "Never mind. Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?"

Rainbow Dash flexed her hooves and her wings. "Sorry, Twi. Been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude." Twilight growled at that.

She turned to me. "Did you notice? You say you know everything, so you have to know something is up with her!"

I gave Twilight a questioning look. It would be easier to tell her now, get her to help me take Chrysalis down. I would be lying if I said I loved working alone. This Plan was all improvised after Killjoy...so letting Chrysalis in on it was not it.

Then again, it would be safer if I told Twilight nothing.

"Well, from what I have seen, there are some strange going's on." I tapped my chin, pretending I was in thought. "Cadence has been a bit off today."

Twilight clapped her hooves. "Ha! See!"

"Sparkle of Twilight, I have seen dozens upon dozens of brides before their wedding day." I explained, looking the unicorn in the eye. "Trust me when I say there is nothing out of the normal."

"Exactly!" Rarity cheered. She put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves."

Twilight slammed her hooves on the table. Everypony jumped back. "And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!"

Applejack raised a worried brow. "Think maybe you're bein' just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?"

"Uh-huh." The ear of us agreed.

Twilight growled, running off towards Shining's house.

I leaned towards Lilac, holding a letter in my magic. "Could you send this to Princess Mi Amore, please?" The note was asking if she dealt with the bridesmaids.

Lilac nodded, sending the letter off in blue flames.

Minutes later, there was a reply of yes.

==DMLB==

"Ah still don't get it." Applejack commented as Rarity put her in the dress.

I looked up at her. "Get what?"

Once we left the café, we all gathered in here. I lied to everypony, saying Cadence's bridesmaids were kicked out because they were just using this all for fame. Rarity was instantly for it, getting busy making more changes to our dresses.

Mine actually used to be one of the other bridesmaids'. I had convinced Rarity to let me use it, but just modifications so that it would be more fit for me.

The others were all walking about in their dresses, trying them out so Rarity could make necessary touch-ups. I actually thought they all looked nice.

Applejack looked at me. " _You_ told the Princess about us?"

"She was having problems with wedding planning." I shrugged. "I told her the best ponies for the job."

Rainbow spoke up. "So you told her about my sonic rainboom?"

"Thought it would look nice over their kiss." I explained.

"And...and my birds?" Fluttershy asked.

"Birds at a wedding? What's more magical than that?"

"And you told her about me for the reception?" Pinkie cheered.

"The best party planner in Equestrian had to know." I laughed. How could none of them see it? They were the only ponies for this.

"Why, thank you Raspberry." Rarity said. She looked like she had tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much!"

"It was no trouble." I shrugged off her praise. "Really. I'm sure you would have done the same, any of you."

Applejack stepped down from the pedestal. Rainbow took her place. "You got us jobs helping with the wedding of the century!" Rainbow said. "And you even let Twilight do most of the other boring stuff!"

"Yeah." I said, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the praises. "But it was nothing, okay, so please stop."

Pinkie hopped to my side, wrapping her hooves around my neck. "Thanks Razzle Dazzle! You're such a good friend!"

" _She gave her coworkers the ole Razzle Dazzle."_

" _Come on, Razzle Dazzle, have a bit of fun!"_

" _I wish you had never come to_ Child's Play _in the first place!"_

I flinched back, letting out a startled yelp. The memories of that night began playing in my head. It was starting to hurt again...I was starting to hurt again.

"She called me Razzle Dazzle." I whimpered. She hated me. Of course she did. I know her magic was just reacting strongly, but you can't crest something from nothing.

I had been telling her most of her life to go against her basic nature. To hide it away, like it was shameful. Nothing Darcy did was shameful. She didn't know the meaning of the word.

She was never coming back. I was never going to see my sister again.

"Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

My eyes widened. I had forgotten they were here. "I should go."

"Mom-"

I was already out the door.

==DMLB==

Chrysalis and I were sitting in the tea room again. She was pacing around, her hooves echoing on the floor. She looked ready to tear something apart.

I was drinking my tea, having some of the sugar cookies. These were actually pretty good.

"That little brat suspects something is up!" Chrysalis grumbled. She shook her head. "She has to!"

"Sparkle of Twilight only knows what we want her to know." I explained, sipping my tea calmly. This felt so British, drinking tea while others panicked.

" _What we want her to know?!_ " Chrysalis guffawed. "We don't _want her to know_ anything!"

I gave her a bored glance, then grabbed another cookie in my magic. "Everything is going smoothly, don't panic now." I took a bite of my cookie.

Chrysalis scoffed. "How can you be so calm? This plan is falling apart!"

"Freak out day isn't for another five weeks." I explained, taking another bite of my cookie. "And the Plan is going fine. Twilight being suspicious is a good thing. You would know too if you thought about it."

"If she figured it out, she'll tell her brother! The _Captain of the Guard_!" Chrysalis yelled. "Or her mentor, the _Princess_ of _Equestria_ , who can _move the sun_!"

I laughed, putting my tea cup down. The cookie had been finished while she panicked. "Chrysalis, think about it. Really think. She's on edge, she knows something is wrong but not what, she knows you are at the centre of it all. If you can do something to prove you _are_ untrustworthy, then she will attack you."

Chrysalis snarled. She ran towards me, grabbing my neck in her magic again. "How is any of that good?!"

"Or, better yet, attack the mare you are supposed to be." I clarified.

Chrysalis paused. Her eyes widened in realization. She dropped me to the ground. I shook it off, getting back to my seat. "Of course! The perfect way to deal with our Cadence problem!"

"And the penny drops." I whispered, sipping my tea.

Chrysalis laughed. "You know, changelings are the ones who are supposed to be tricksters. Taking the place of ponies, manipulating other to gain their trust and love."

I made a curious face. "Oh?"

"I think you make a good changeling." Chrysalis complimented.

I gaped at that. Me, a good changeling? No. No. I'm not a good changeling. I'm just doing this to protect my friends, to keep Twilight's heart from breaking, to save as much as this wedding as I can.

Well, yeah, I was using pretty shitty moves to get it done. I was betraying Mia and Shiny by not stopping this all together, and by leaving Mia in those caverns alone. I was betraying Twilight by making her think I was against her. I was betraying the others by working with Chrysalis, and actually helping her. I was betraying my daughter.

Worst off, there was nothing I could do. What's happening now has to happen. If I stopped now, there was a chance Chrysalis would advance her plans and hurt everypony in Canterlot. I would be powerless to stop it.

"I think you make a great one." I said to the Queen, taking a sip of my tea.

She laughed.

I gulped. The wedding rehearsal started soon. This was my chance. "You should send her to the caverns before the rehearsal." I said. "It would be best to do it as soon as possible. If she causes a scene at the rehearsal, ponies might investigate her claims and figure it out. I'll tell the others Twilight decided to leave the wedding party after you two got into a big fight."

Chrysalis nodded. "Yes. That sounds perfect."

"So if anypony'll ask, Twilight is in Ponyville." I went on. "I'll deal with anypony else who asks questions."

With that Chrysalis walked towards the doors. They glowed green, letting her out. "Yes. A very good changeling indeed."


	42. Am I Late to the Reception?

_Twilight Sparkle_

I rose up from the ground on shaky hooves. The last thing she remembered was...was...she was talking to Cadence. She was...apologizing?

Yes. Apologizing for her behavior. She said the wedding planning had been driving her insane, since Shining Armor had been defending Canterlot. Cadence said that Raspberry had actually decided to take over some of the planning, which relieved her greatly.

So, Cadence had come to me to explain herself. She said she wanted to gain a sister in me. I thought things were looking up, until Cadence suddenly surrounded me in green flames.

That was when I blacked out.

I looked around the cave, lighting up my horn with my purple/pink magic. It was cold, and dark. The ground beneath my hooves was stronger than dirt, more like the marble floors in the palace. The walls were crystalline in shape, providing an atmosphere that had my neck hairs stand.

"Hello?" I called out only to have my voice echo back. Rising up from my position on the floor, I tried walking around. It seemed like a silly thing to do in a place this dark, but it seemed an even worse idea to stay in one place. "Is anyone there?" The same response.

That was when I walked into a wall. Glad Raspberry wasn't here to see that. She would have laughed.

I knew I had been treating her unfairly, ever since I first met her. She just seemed too smart, always with an answer but not the answer I had wanted. She was better at magic than me, she had figured out The Mare in the Moon faster than me, she even had Discord figured out faster than me!

Weeks back, I had tried to be her friend. Something was making her upset after Discord, I was able to tell. She had seemed so upset before. Then the answer hit me harder than I had ever thought.

Lilac. She was doing all the things she did for Lilac.

She had worked on the Elements of Harmony so she could find a way to keep Lilac safe. Discord was defeated after Raspberry realized her daughter was in danger. When her daughter was going to be in a play, and Raspberry had spent nearly every second assuring Lilac.

Raspberry was close to becoming my friend. So close, and then I messed everything up. Future Twilight had said 'Raspberry' and I just assumed it was all her fault. Future Twilight had tried to say it wasn't, but I refused to believe it. I tied Raspberry up in my basement! When she got out, she dragged me to Canterlot, showed me the Starswirl Spell, and then we had an argument. She had been trying to help us, let us figure things out on our own. She said we were grown mares that didn't need somepony to hold their hoof.

Then I told her terrible things. I had said she never really helped us. That she had only made things worse, and that she should just stop helping because none of us wanted it. From the tears in her eyes, I knew that was the wrong thing to say.

For three weeks we argued over it. I had tried to apologize, realizing it had all been just a giant understanding. Raspberry had admitted she had figured that out early on. An endless paradox, she called it. She had wanted to explain that to me before I duct taped her mouth shut and threw her in my basement.

Then Lilac and Spike went to the Migration. Lilac had told me her mother knew of her leaving ('Mom knows everything, but she doesn't really know about me.') so it was alright to let her go with Spike. I should have known better, after Spike pulling that trick to get cookies from the cookie jar. Raspberry had come to me at her breaking point. If that was what I looked like in the Smarty Pants incident, then no wonder everypony was worried about me. She passed out after telling us all of her apprehensions, her worries over Lilac's disappearance.

Once we brought her to her home, I found out so much about Raspberry Stardust. She was an orphan, completely alone. That old roommate of her's had left some time ago. All she had left was Lilac. She was back to her sarcastic, smug self as soon as Lilac came home.

The newspaper incident with the Crusaders was one of Raspberry's strangest moments. She was one of the first ponies that had a slanderous rumor go on about her, but she only laughed at it. She said she liked these days, with untrue stories about her in the news. Apparently the more ridiculous it was, the better.

Raspberry proved herself a genius after the MMMystery Cake incident. She wore a Sherlock Holmes hat (giving Pinkie a Watson cap), figuring out everything in ten minutes!

Raspberry was a lot of things. She was sarcastic, she was insecure, she smiled even at the darkest of times, she always knew exactly what a pony needed, she was an orphan, she was a genius, she was a good friend to have,

And she was an excellent mother.

Her odd behavior around Cadence had an explanation, it just had to. I wouldn't make an outrageous accusation without proof this time, real proof.

There was dark laughter coming up from the ceiling, making me cower against the crystal wall.

"Where am I?" I asked, hoping somepony would answer.

There was movement in the corner of my eye. _"The caves beneath Canterlot."_ Cadence-no-whatever was posing as Cadence bragged. I leapt away from it, realizing after the fact that it was just a reflection. _"Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now, your prison."_

I tried running away, but she followed my every move. She explained her horrible plot, or at least the outline of it. She had trapped me down here in these ancient caves, ones nopony had seen in centuries possibly millennia. By the time anypony figured that out she would have succeeded.

She had plans for my brother. Bad plans. The imposter taunted me, saying I had to catch her or else my brother was doomed. No way that monster was going to lay a hoof on my BBBFF!

A crystal wall shattered, showing the disheveled form of my captor. She noticed me and her purple eyes widened. "No! Wait!"

I leapt at her before she could escape. She was pinned beneath my hooves, my horn lighting up brighter.

"Ugh! Please! Don't hurt me!" She pleaded. She looked up at me and her eyes filled with gentleness, the kind I remember from her times foalsitting me. "Twilight, it's me!"

I remembered doing this to her on the bridge, after Shining Armor had told me who he was marrying. Was this another ploy? A truck?

She apparently noticed my disbelief. "Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you." She explained. "The Cadence who brought you down here was an imposter."

"Likely story!"

The imposter sighed, crawling out from underneath me. She stood in front of me...and...and she-

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves..."

"...and do a little shake."

The pink alicorn smiled at me, with such love in her eyes. It was her. It was really, really her!

I wrapped my hooves around her. "You remember me!"

"Of course I do." She said. "How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most?"

Our hug ended as the imposter laughed off in the distance.

"We have to get out of here." I said. "We have to stop her!"

"Wait." Cadence said, pulling out an emerald. "She said I had to wait until I saw you again." Cadence slammed the stone down into the crystal floor. It shimmered bright yellow, nearly blinding me for a minute. I turned away.

When I looked back, a faded image was showing above the remains of the stone. It was a dark pink unicorn, her midnight blue mane with sterling silvers streaks curled all around. Her amber eyes were locked forward, staring at nopony. I could see her cutiemark; a book with a blue and silver jump rope curling around it.

Raspberry Stardust.

"Razzle?" Cadence asked.

"You _actually_ know her?" I asked my former foalsitter, surprised. I thought that was a lie Raspberry and that thing came up with, to try and trick us.

She nodded. "Of course. She's one of my close friends. How do you know her?"

"She lives in Ponyville, moved in the same day I did." I answered.

Suddenly, a voice came out in the direction of Raspberry's image.

" _Mia, if you're watching this, then one of three things has happened."_

"Mia?"

"Razzle came up with it." Cadence explained.

" _One, I've died under mysterious circumstances. If it's that one, Mia, I ask that you and Shiny Hiney watch over Lilac, I have made some changes legally and you two are listed as her godparents._

" _Two, I have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Same as before, but I want you to find any clues I left around my house._

" _Three, you're trapped in the crystal caverns underneath Canterlot by a changeling."_

"How did she know that?!" I asked.

" _Twilight is most likely with you, she asked how I could know that."_ The image smirked. " _The same way I knew about Nightmare Moon, Sparkle of Twilight."_

"She knew?" Cadence asked.

The image of Raspberry leaned forward, pointing at something. " _Mia, I need you to listen carefully, Twilight you too. I will be making a plan with Chrysalis, to buy you some time to escape. You'll need every second._ "

I was enraged. Raspberry made a deal with some evil pony?! "How could she do that!"

Looking at the image, I saw her wipe some tears from her eyes. _"If it somehow goes right, for me, then I'll explain why. If not...tell Shy, Pinkie, and Rarity they were great friends, Lune had to be one of my best friends, Applejack was getting there. Rainbow could've trusted me if she actually tried. And tell Lilac,"_ Raspberry wiped more tears. " _Tell Lilac, she is the best daughter I could've asked for, and I'll always love her. See ya later."_

The image distorted, vanishing in a small puff of smoke.

"Razzle, what are you up to?" Cadence asked.

==DMLB==

The wedding was on in full swing. All the guests were seated, the new bridesmaids were all dressed, Spike was still playing with the cake toppers, and the groomstallion's were all in a row.

The flower fillies (and dragon) skipped down the aisle throwing lily petals. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza glided down the aisle, humming a song nopony could hear over the wedding march. She stood by her soon-to-be husband's side.

Only two were missing from this event. The mare of honor, and the best mare. Both had an excuse absence. Twilight had left the wedding party after how rudely Cadence was treating her, and everypony. Raspberry had left to try and convince Twilight otherwise.

At least, that was what the Princess said when she was asked.

Princess Celestia began the ceremony. Everypony watched with glistening eyes (except Applejack, she slipped her hat on since Rarity wasn't watching).

"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor." Princess Celestia said. "If there is anypony who wishes to object to this union, let it be known now or forever hold your peace."

The doors to the chapel were swing open in purple/pink magic. "I object!" Twilight screamed.

The bridesmaids all rolled their eyes. They were afraid something like this would happen. Couldn't they just have one _normal_ day?

' _Princess Mi Amore'_ stomped her hoof. "Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" The alicorn noticed the curious look from Princess Celestia. She fake sobbed. "Why does she have to ruin my special day?"

"Because it's not _your_ special day!"

Oh, biscuits.

The real Princess Mi Amore stormed in, a determined look in her eyes. "It's _mine_!"

The wedding party gasped. Yep. Normal day was out the window and having a tea party with Discord. Anypony want sugar?

The fake bride gasped. Her plan had been fool proofed! Raspberry had promised Cadence would be dealt with after sending Twilight down there! And, just in case of betrayal, she had left the other bridesmaids as traps. "What? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?"

Cadence smirked. "Threw the bouquet."

The changeling queen had to give her some credit. That was a brilliant idea. No bridesmaid could resist a bouquet. "Hmph. Clever. But you're still too late."

"I-I don't understand." Applejack finally spoke what everypony else was wondering. "How can there be two of 'em?"

Princess Cadence stepped forward, closer to the wedding arch. "She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them."

Realizing the jig was up, Chrysalis shed the bride disguise. Her coat changed from delighted pink into sickly black. Her mane turned stringy, and dark sea green. Her eyes turned more harlequin than purple. Her wings (as well as other parts) gained holes. Even her mane, was nopony going to explain that?

Queen Chrysalis smirked at the true Princess, as well as the little purple unicorn. It was no surprise the Princess of Love knew about a species dedicated to eating it. "Right you are, Princess. And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects." She monologued. She trotted right up to Cadence's muzzle, staring the smaller mare down. "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!"

Princess Cadence argued this. These were her subjects, her family, her friends, her true love! "They'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!"

"Oh, I doubt that. Isn't that right, dear?" She turned to the Captain of the Guard.

The stallion nodded, a blank expression on his face.

Cadence looked at him in shock. She had forgotten that Chrysalis had been casting spells on Shining Armor. She ran up towards him, hoping to find some way of breaking the spell. A black hoof blocked her path.

Queen Chrysalis tsked at her. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you?"

She couldn't. There wasn't enough time to get back if she was sent there again.

The changeling grinned at the surrender. "Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it."

The changeling stood back at the unicorn's side. She had made sure to tell her fellow changelings to come only after the ceremony had started. It wouldn't be long now before it shattered and changelings would rule.

"He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now." Chrysalis taunted. The two mares gasped. "And I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the Royal Guard."

Princess Cadence's jaw dropped. "Not my Shining Armor!"

"What about Raspberry?" Twilight yelled. "She said she was going to stop you!"

Chrysalis raised a brow (if changelings even had those) and laughed. "Oh? She did, did she?"

"She was the one who helped us out of the Caverns!" Twilight yelled.

The Queen's eyes shrunk, in anger. "Well, it seems she has abandoned you. I saw her leave the palace this morning, claiming to want a running start."

Twilight and Cadence gasped. "No!" Cadence yelled. "She's my friend! She would never abandon us like you claim!"

"But think about it." Chrysalis said, pointing at hoof at Cadence. "She knew about the invasion. Some stroke of genius, as she claimed. Why didn't she go to the guards? To the Princesses? Why didn't she tell you?"

Even though Cadence had a vast amount of trust in Raspberry, Chrysalis' words had brought up doubts. They were friends. Raspberry had told her things not even Twilight knew of. Cadence had shared secrets in return. If they were as close as believed, why didn't Raspberry share this news?

"Instead, she came to me." Chrysalis purred. "Helped me, and betrayed all of you."

"Or, and this is the most likely option." A voice spoke.

The ponies began looking all over the room, but could not find the source of the sound. It was like it was coming from just the air itself.

Suddenly, a pony appeared just before Chrysalis. She was smiling, almost as smug as the Queen herself. She was covered by a red robe, with a golden rope around the waist, and a blue sorcerer's cap on her head. Her midnight blue and sterling silver mane were half hidden by it, as well as her horn.

On her back, were a magnificent pair of butterfly wings.

"Raspberry!" Cadence exclaimed, starting to smile.

"She went out for backup." Raspberry said, flapping her wings so she was floating over the wedding party. She smirked confidently at Chrysalis.

The Queen glared, baring her fangs. "Backup?"

"I needed help, so I called up the best ponies for the job." Raspberry explained, looking towards the door.

Voice Over (aka Mega Telephone) flew into the room. She floated beside Raspberry, a neutral expression on her face. "She's in place."

Raspberry nodded. "All is going to plan."

"You already failed!" Chrysalis screamed, fangs showing in a full display of anger. Her insectoid wings stood up at attention, as if to make herself seem a bigger threat. "Shining Armor is powerless!"

"Oh?" Raspberry tilted her head.

"The most fierce pride is born from the sense of powerlessness." Voice Over commented.

"Wow. That one was good." Raspberry bowed.

"Thank you." Voice Over bowed back.

"Pay attention!" Chrysalis shouted, exasperated at the two mares' disrespect for their new overlord. "I am taking over this kingdom!"

Raspberry ignored the yell, turning to the superhero. "How much does Attention charge?"

The teal unicorn tapped her chin in thought. "As much, as you are willing to pay." She decided.

Raspberry scoffed. "Darn it. I'm broke."

Despite their fear, the ponies in the hall snickered. Even Twilight, who was this close to smacking Raspberry Stardust into next week, cracked a smile. Chrysalis looked around, horrified. These pathetic ponies should be afraid, shaking with fear! They shouldn't be _laughing_!

Raspberry flew up to Chrysalis, glaring at the changeling. "It it actually you who has failed, Chrysalis."

Chrysalis huffed, like a bull. No, seriously, even two little puffs of steam came out of her nose. It was pretty funny. "What makes you think that?" The Queen pointed over at the pink shield covering the city. "Any second, my children shall break that shield!"

Raspberry looked to Voice Over. She nodded. The superhero nodded back, flying out of the room. Raspberry turned back to Chrysalis, giving her wings a giant flap. She was floating above again, back where Voice Over was.

"Our third member is working on that." The winged unicorn explained. "She, and Voice Over, are going to kick the behinds of everyling they see." She looked down to Twilight. "Get it? Every _ling_? Cause, ya see, we say every _pony_ -"

"You can't defeat us!" Chrysalis yelled. "You were helping us!"

"I was helping my friends!" Raspberry shouted.

The shield broke.

Before anypony could really panic, a large red dome covered the city. It was far thicker than the old pink shield, casting a red light over the town. It really didn't help calm the ponies done...should have thought of that...

"Ruby, mares and gentlecolts." Raspberry gloated, flying to the windows and showing off the red dome. "She's good at making shields. Once, I saw her put one over an entire city! Not this one, another completely different city. I understand the confusion."

Chrysalis vibrated in her rage. She let out a primal yell, charging towards Raspberry. The winged unicorn didn't hesitate. Her horn glowed red, as well as grew sparks. Red lightning shot out from the horn, hitting Chrysalis square in the chest.

The Queen was flung back to the steps of the alter. She shook her head, trying to get back up to her feet. Down on her chest, right where the blast hit, smoke rose.

Raspberry boredly looked at her hoof. "She can also control lightning." Raspberry commented. "It's her best feature. Well, that and duplication. She can make her doubles look completely different right from the get go. Like, make her double a teal unicorn with a black mane, or a red unicorn." She smirked down at Chrysalis. "And she's ever so humble about it." She blinked. "And refers to herself in the third. Man, she's confusing!"

Chrysalis blinked at her. "You can control _lightning_?!"

Raspberry groaned, rolling her eyes. "About time somepony figured that out."

"How?!" The changeling shrieked.

The winged unicorn flinched, rubbing her shoulder. "Really bad collision with a power grid. Best not ask more. Heeya!" Raspberry flung another lightning bolt at Chrysalis.

The Queen dodged it, letting her wings flare. Her crooked horn started to glow green.

Raspberry laughed, stepping hoof on the ground for the first time since coming it. "Finally. Some action." Her horn glowed with the lightning.

The two beams met, evenly matched against each other. Ponies watched with bated breath as Raspberry held her own against the Queen.

"You know." Raspberry grunted. "If anypony wanted to go and get, oh, the Elements of Harmony, I wouldn't exactly stop them."

Twilight tilted her head. Cadence elbowed her. "Go. We need the Elements. Raspberry won't be able to hold her off for long."

The purple unicorn paused, looking over at her friend. Raspberry seemed to be going strong, yet as a scholar (and pony who had been under that effect once before) Twilight noticed the slowly coming effects of magic exhaustion. It wouldn't be long before Raspberry fell, leaving Chrysalis free to attack the other ponies.

Twilight looked over to her friends. "Come on girls!"

The five mares nodded, running towards Twilight. They threw off their dresses (Rarity tried gathering them up, but was reminded of the danger) and ran for the Element Hall.

Chrysalis laughed. "You really think jewelry will stop me?"

Raspberry smirked. "No, but it would surely make me feel better."

The winged unicorn shook slightly. She stumbled to the ground, trying to lift herself back up.

"Mom!" Lilac suddenly shouted in worry.

Raspberry stopped. She turned to her daughter, and her amber eyes widened. Lilac looked adorable in her white and purple flower filly dress, and the wicker basket filled with rose petals. She was shaking, clutching to the basket so tight her claws were an even lighter shade of purple than usual.

Unfortunately, Raspberry forgot she was in a duel. Since she had ceased firing her lightning bolt, the green blast from the Queen had nothing holding it back.

Lilac screamed as the bolt hit her mother's horn. The unicorn being sent back by the force of the blast.

Now, in the show, Princess Celestia was simply knocked to the ground and then unconscious. Remember, she's an alicorn who can move the sun and the moon.

Raspberry Stardust had a different reaction. She didn't have the strength Princess Celestia did. The force of the blast sent her back towards the wall. Or, in this case, the window. The unicorn crashed through it, falling towards the ground far down below. Her wings vanishing in yellow sparkles, signifying she had used up her magic.

" **MOM**!"

==DMLB==

 _Raspberry/Morgan_

Okay. Should have thought that through. Not a proud moment on my part.

As I fell down from the chapel window, I felt the doubles merge back with me. I guess that blast hit me harder than I thought. Ruby-Me had kept the shield going, but dropped it after a hit from a changeling. Voice Over-Me was the same.

Before I could go splat, I focused on Ruby's flight. That should be enough to stop the fall, or at least the blow.

It did. It made the collision hurt less. Instead of just plain dropping and making a Raspberry shaped hole in the ground, I bounced and landed on a bush.

Thank Story Twilight wasn't here. She might never let me hear the end of it.

Once my hooves were on solid ground, I shook my head. It really helps you regain your balance.

The changelings were starting their invasion. Man, and I was so close to winning! Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I ran towards the Element Hall. I had that route memorized after I kept wanting to see myself in those stain glass windows.

Wouldn't you want to see yourself in a window?

Vanity later, helping my friends now!

==DMLB==

The Mane Six were very easy to find, after avoiding all of the changelings/torpedoes. They were almost completely surrounded on all sides by changelings. I ran up to them, the changelings blocking my exit after.

"Phew. Thought I was gonna be late to the party." I joked.

Twilight half glared. "What was that back there? You said you were going to stop her!"

"I tried, but something happened at the last second and I lost." I admitted.

Rainbow rolled her hooves, smashing her hooves together. "Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way." She ran up to one, but it changed into her. I know it did because it covered itself in green flames. Whatever was going on with my eyes still let me see the changeling underneath. That would save time.

After a brief confusion, the changeling shoved Rainbow back. "How did you...?" A dozen changelings changed shape.

Twilight stared at them in muted shock. "They're changelings, remember?"

"They're changelings, remember?" The changelings taunted.

"Hey! Only I can do that!" I yelled at them. "And I don't do it to be mean!"

"Don't let them distract you." Twilight instructed. I briefly wondered if she included me in that. "We have to get to the Elements of Harmony. They're our only hope."

We attacked.

Thankfully, I had mastered quite a few fighting styles. Tai Shing Pek Kwar, Kung-Fu, and karate.

I leapt at the first changeling, giving him a kick to the head. He was flung back, and I think I saw a tooth fly out of his mouth.

The next changeling got a kick in the arm. It sent him flying back into another two.

A changeling leapt at me. I grabbed him in my magic at threw him at a nearby plant. What can I say, I felt vengeful.

My fourth changeling opponent approached. I gave him a good old punch in the face. That sent him to the ground.

It was like this for a few minutes, constantly punching changelings or kicking them. A few were so tough I knocked out a fang, and maybe a bit of skin. Changeling blood was green, apparently.

Some were extra bothersome. I was already fighting two changelings when a third would decided to cut in. Those I threw into the walls, or a staircase. Or another changeling.

One I even bucked in the face! It was badass! He had those little cartoon birds fly over his head, then he collapsed to the ground.

It was too much, though. We were over powered. The changelings were many, and we were few. I was still magically weak from my earlier fight with Chrysalis. My Plan might have a chance, if I pull the right strings at the right time.

For now, time to see the Queen.

==DMLB==

 _Twilight_

Okay. It is fair to say Raspberry terrified me a bit. She fought off close to twenty changelings in the first few minutes! I don't know how she was completely able to punch the ones that looked like Fluttershy and not hesitate. I certainly had trouble with that.

The changelings guided us into the wedding chapel. I could see Raspberry was sagging a bit, her breathing slightly heavy. This fighting was taking a lot out of her. I was worried she might end up like Applejack during Applebuck Season. She need to visit a doctor if we somehow succeed.

It seemed pretty bleak. There was little to no chance of us winning at this point. My brother was trapped under the Queen's control, Cadence was stuck to the floor by goo. My mentor was in a similar predicament, her own horn being mucked up in addition.

We were doomed.

Queen Chrysalis grinned smugly at my old foalsitter. "You were saying?" She turned to us, hissing. "You do realize the reception's been cancelled, don't you? Go! Feed!"

The changeling drones left, the doors slamming shut behind them.

Queen Chrysalis chuckled darkly, her fangs making the laugh sound more like a buzz. "It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct!"

"Sorry, Twi. We should've listened to you." Applejack apologized.

"It's not your fault. She fooled practically everypony." I assured, looking over to Raspberry.

Raspberry wasn't fooled. She knew what was going on. The one thing I can't figure out was why. Why had she done this? She said earlier it was for her friends, but really? She let Lilac get that close to getting hurt for all of us?

The pink unicorn was nervously looking about the room. Her amber eyes were smaller, nearly pinpricks. I had seen this look before. It was her mother's look, her concern for her daughter. Lilac and the others had to have gotten someplace safe.

At least, I hope they did.

"Hmm, I did, didn't I?" The Queen chirped, trotting towards the window. _"This day has been just perfect. The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small. Everypony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal. Who says a girl can't really have it all?"_

The Queen stopped singing, turning to us again. "Wait a moment. Raspberry, I haven't given you any of your well-earned credit. This is all your fault." Chrysalis smirked.

We all turned to Raspberry, her left eye twitched slightly before she glared darkly at Chrysalis.

"If you had just come to those ponies when you had the chance, none of this would have happened." Chrysalis went on. "Everything that happens today is on your head. You betrayed the changelings, you betrayed the ponies." She sneered. "You even betrayed that useless sack of scales you called a daughter."

My eyes widened at that. Raspberry had her whole demeanor change, from furious to almost too calm. The look in her amber eyes promised hurt.

"I called you a good changeling, but I found an even better name for you." Chrysalis said. "The Great Betrayer. It certainly fits you better than changeling."

"Chrissy, let me tell you some of the things I've been up against in my life." Raspberry growled. "Nurses that looked like cats, a Living Consciousness, Ood possessed by the Devil himself, a living sun, Daleks, Cybermen, Reapers, the Master, Sontarans, Vashta Narada, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, werewolf/vampire hybrids, Vampire Hunters, Witch Hunters, Fairy Hunters, Deathdealers, zombies, evil fairies, pixies, witches, that one incident with a fish, a spotted leopard, a god of chaos, the god of lightning, the god of the sea, gods of the dead, the god of mischief, Rumplestiltskin, the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Cora, a genie, at least three sorcerers, a robot suit powered by a ghost shaped like a tooth, a ghost who thought he could control technology, a ghost who loves boxes, a ghost who was a prison guard, a lunch mare ghost, a rich and vengeful half-ghost, at least five Queens, varying forms of alien life."

We all stared at Raspberry in shock and awe. She was still walking around the chapel room, as if bored. She could tell she was more than a bit angry as she went on.

"I went up against two dolls possessed by two serial killers, a Nightmare Demon sent to kill you in your sleep, a stallion who could never die and had a fetish for a hockey mask and a machete, and a dying man who liked to play torture games. I even fought Death himself, tens of times I might add. That was just his physical form, I fought death-death thirty times. I have also fought against a monster that could camouflage himself, and a giant spider. "

The pink unicorn walked up to the frozen Chrysalis, I couldn't see her face but I knew she was still frowning.

"So tell me, Miss Queen of Love-Eaters. What makes you any different than them? I'll tell you what. You tried to hurt my daughter. You're gonna be the first to see what happens when you mess with her and I'm still able to fight. Do you think you can somehow manage to take me down?"

The Changeling Queen glared at Raspberry, hissing at her. "With pleasure!"

The Queen's horn glowed. Raspberry jumped out of the way. The blast hit the floor, leaving a scorch mark. Raspberry started to run around the chapel, laughing.

"Now _this_ is what I came here for! Come on Queenie! It shouldn't be so hard to kill me now should it?" Raspberry laughed, ducking behind every blast. "I mean, come on! I'm barely even trying!" She gloated. "This is pathetic!"

The Queen growled, firing again. "Just! Hold! Still!"

Raspberry avoided each shot. "Not. A. Chance." She mocked.

While the Queen was distracted, I had my chance. I blasted the goo covering my hooves and ran over to Cadence and Shining Armor.

"This is your chance," I used the same spell on her hooves. "Go to him."

My old foalsitter nodded, going up to my brother.

"Gah!" Raspberry screamed.

I gasped, turning around to see what was wrong. Raspberry had been hit by one of the blasts, knocking her into a wall. She clutched one hoof at her side, using the others to push her up.

The Queen used this. She lifted up Raspberry's by her neck. "Ha! How pathetic. I expected more from you, Raspberry Stardust. All talk but no game?"

"You know..." Raspberry coughed. "What they say...about enemies?"

The Queen rolled her eyes, gripping Raspberry tighter in her magical grasp. "Love them as you love yourself?"

Raspberry's eyes narrowed. She shook her head, as if to get rid of a bad thought or memory. "No."

Using her back hooves, she wrapped them around Chrysalis' neck, pushing her to the ground. Raspberry held the Queen down, glaring her in the eye.

"Keep them close." She turned to Cadance and Shining. "Now!"

Queen Chrysalis struggled against Raspberry. "What good would that do? My changelings already roam free." She grunted, trying to throw Raspberry off.

Shining Armor tried to light up his horn, but the tip would barely even glow. "No! My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them.

Cadence cupped his cheek with her hoof. "My love will give you strength.

Queen Chrysalis scoffed. "What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment."

"I found the best arguments are!" Raspberry snapped as a bright pink dome formed around the wedding couple.

It grew, and grew. Raspberry jumped off of Chrysalis, falling to the floor with a roll.

The done caught Chrysalis, dragging her towards the window. "Know this Raspberry Stardust! My children will come for you, this I swear!" Chrysalis screamed as she was blasted away.

We all turned to Raspberry. Her back was to us. She was brushing some of her mane back. "Now _that_ is what I call a wedding!" The unicorn cheered. "Also, _MY EYES!_ "

The unicorn dropped to the floor, screaming and holding her eyes.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan_

It was really, really dark when I opened my eyes. It was either nighttime, or I was wearing an eye mask.

"Ah. I see you're awake." A voice spoke. I turned my head towards it. "I'm Doctor Acuvue, an optometrist."

I tried to hide a snicker.

The doctor spoke, ignoring my joke apparently. "It seems that there was a spell cast upon your eyes by a changeling. It's been there for quite some time. That shield created by Princess Cadance and Captain Armor must have removed it from your eyes, causing the pain."

I grunted. "Not does explain how I could see past the Queen's disguise." I tapped my hoof on my chin. "Sweet."

"The burns on your side can be healed quickly thanks to those healing spells I used while you were sedated." The doctor went on. "You should be fine in an hour or two."

"Great." I smiled, leaning back against the hospital bed. "Ah. It's no fun until you're almost dead."

"You have some guests waiting outside, should I let them in?" The doctor asked, motioning to the door.

I nodded, sighing. "Oh yeah. They probably want an explanation." The doctor nodded, easing the door open. "It's never a good hospital visit without one, at least in my experience."

The ponies all glared. Or, at least the burning I felt made me think they were glaring.

"Okay! Okay! I give." I groaned. "I found out about Chrissy's plan a few months back, and got to work on putting it down. All in all, I say I succeeded. I made her think I was a worthy adversary, then I lied about helping her devious, incredibly impulsive plan."

"But, what about all of that stuff you said?" Fluttershy asked. "A-About the m-monsters?"

"Oh. Yeah. That was a lie." I admitted.

The ponies laughed. I guess my speech was pretty outlandish. What was I thinking?

"I fought a wizard too." I corrected. They stopped laughing. "I never really include Ice King though, because, quite frankly, who does? The guy's own penguins don't like him. _Gunter_ likes me more, and Gunter hates everypony."

There was a tense silence.

"W-what?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Oh. The rest of that speech wasn't a lie." I admitted. "I just kinda omitted Ice King, and an emittance of a truth is still a lie. Everypony knows that."

"You...you actually fought all of that stuff?" Rainbow asked.

"Should it even really count as a fight since I was bored in half of them?" I asked. "Seriously. It's like some of them didn't even try."

"How come you never told me?" Mia asked. "Told anypony?"

"I told Lune." I said, pointing at the blue alicorn. Or, I really hope I did. Story, I hate being blind.

"You told me no such thing." The Night Princess proclaimed.

"What, you think I _made up_ all those dreams?" I laughed. Her eyes widened. "No. All that really happened. I was just remembering them."

"Those were...memories?" Princess Luna asked.

"Well, some were, a few were rumors I had put together. Cool huh?" I asked. I laughed. "Next time, I was gonna show you what I did to deal with Skulker, the ghost hunter, err, Hunter ghost? Semantics." I laughed reminiscently. "You would think he was tough to beat, but once you brought up that purple back gorilla-"

Rainbow interrupted me that time. "How do we know you're telling the truth? You could be lying to save your own hide!"

"True, true. All too true." I nodded. "But, Rainbow Dash, you must also consider, what if I'm telling the truth?"

"None of that could be real! You made that up!" Rainbow argued, looking pissed. "You were working with that weird bug thing the whole time!"

"Rainbow, how can I explain this to you?" I argued. "I could tell you anything, and you'd refuse to believe it! Unless I say that I was working with her, that I betrayed to you all for some nefarious reason, you won't accept it."

The Pegasus was fuming, but she didn't argue against it.

I sighed. "Look, I know what I did was wrong and that it'll take a long time before you can forgive me, but I am not going to regret what I did."

"You lied to us!" Applejack argued.

"You had me thrown into the Canterlot Caverns!" Twilight added.

"You messed up my party!" Pinkie said, looking angry but it was weak. The others glared at her. "What?"

"Yes, and I don't regret it. You heard what Chrysalis said at the end. She's coming for me now." I said. The large group turned to me.

"Why do you sound happy about that?" Mia asked, sounding like she was about to cry.

"Cause if she's after me, she's not after any of you." I explained. "She thinks I the one who ruined her plan. The rest of you were just add-ons in her mind. I'm her enemy, not you guys. She'll want revenge on just me, and not even bother going after the lot of you. Especially now that I have made her think I am alienated from you."

"You did all of this...for us?" Twilight asked.

I tilted my head. Oh, those poor little ponies. "Sparkle of Twilight, you are my friend. I am not going to take a risk that Chrysalis is going to plot revenge on you, any of you. I had to stop that right at the source." I started shaking my head, thinking about all the things I had read about Chrysalis online and what I had seen in real life. "She is not a good enemy you want targeting you. I've seen that type before, and they won't stop until you're dead and buried. Nothing any of you will say could change my mind."

There was silence.

"Now, is Lilac okay?" I asked.

It took a moment for somepony to respond. "She and the other Crusaders were hiding in a broom closet." Mia said.

I let out a relieved breath. Thank the good lord above and the merciful Storyline before me.

"Excuse me." Dr. Acuvue came back to the conversation. "Raspberry needs some rest."

The ponies left, in near silence. I leaned back against the hospital bed thinking over how my Plan failed, and which parts went right.

"Actually, doctor, might I speak with Raspberry in private for a moment?" Princess Celestia requested.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The door closed, and I was left alone with the Princess.

"I think I've finally figured you out, Raspberry Stardust." Princess Celestia said.

I smirked, trying to hide any nervousness. Inside, I was begging to be allowed to live. "Oh?"

The Princess leaned in closer. "Or, Agent DeadFillyWalking."

Okay. That threw me a bit. DeadGirlWalking was an old url I had some time ago, back in _Danny Phantom_ days. It made sense, seeing as I had died twice already by that point.

A flash of memory played in my mind. One of Raspberry's. It was of me, and that Bonbon mare fighting what looked like a giant bug bear. That certainly seemed interesting.

A smirk appeared on my face. I guess those rumors were true. Bonbon was a spy! Awesome!

"Haven't heard that name in a while." I admitted. "Good times, good times."

Celestia nodded. "I had forgotten, it seems, that I had all of your records wiped. I wanted that organization gone, and accidentally removed it from my own mind. How strange."

"Probably a defensive tactic." I shrugged. "In case anypony asked about it, you could have plausible deniability."

The alicorn grinned. "And that was why you were our best agent." Celestia complimented.

"Oh stop it, Celly, you're making me blush." I grinned. This day just gets better and better! And that wasn't sarcasm, I mean it! Best day ever! "I was the best agent _ever_."

Celestia seemed teasingly unsure. "Agent Sweetie Drops was close."

"I let her get close." I shot back. "Mission accomplished, ma'am?"

The alicorn nodded, along towards the door. "Mission accomplished, Agent. Good job."

Once the Princess was gone, I let out an excited cheer.

Raspberry Stardust was a spy! _AWESOME_

==DMLB==

The reception was going strong. Twilight had just finished _Love is in Bloom_ , everypony was dancing. I saw Lilac having fun with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

Sitting next to me was Mia, her mane was all done up hot and gorgeous. Her wedding dress was breathtaking, if I was just a little bit more into stuff like dresses. Shiny was wearing his red suit with all the adornments.

Mia looked up to me, a smile on her face.

"Razzle~" Mia started.

"Mia~?" I asked, matching her tone.

"Do you think you could sing something for us~?" The bright pink alicorn smiled.

I blinked. "What." I said, in the same tone I would use on Darcy when she asked for something she knew I would say no to.

"Could you go and sing for us? I know you can." Mia said, still smiling sweetly.

Blinking again, I looked up at Vinyl Scratch standing by the speakers. Lilac was dancing and having fun, the Mane 6 were having even more and I think I saw Luna smiling with Celestia.

"I-"

Mia grabbed my hooves, looking me right in my eyes. "Razzle, I know you can do it. I believe in you."

My friend kept smiling at me, giving me silent encouragement. I had a small bit of stage fright. It wasn't that I was scared of going onstage, with people I knew watching. If I messed up, they might remind me of it for the rest of my life.

"But what if I mess up?" I asked Mia.

"You won't." Mia answered. Damn it she was good.

Taking a deep breath, I held Mia hoof a little tighter and nodded. The alicorn of love squealed, letting my hooves go and hugged me. I was suddenly wrapped up in pleasant blue magic and carried off towards the stage.

Mia grabbed the microphone, making it hover in front of me so I could grab it in my own magic.

"Everypony, my dear friend Raspberry Stardust would like to sing you a song." Mia cheered, letting her magic on me go. I steadied myself onto the stage, holding the mic as Mia flew off the stage.

Taking another breath, I looked at Viny. "Can you play this song?" I told her the name. The unicorn nodded and went up to the records and began getting it ready.

The blue maned unicorn nodded at me after a moment. I held the mic and tapped it twice.

"Testing, testing. One two three. Testing, testing. One two three. Can everypony hear me?"

"I can hear you!" Pinkie cheered from some random location.

"Thanks Pinkie." I smiled. "Now, this is a song that every wedding needs. Hit it DJPon3!"

Vinyl raised a good at me, then played the music.

" _I thought love was only true in fairytales."_ I sang. _"Meant for somepony else but not for me. Love was out to get me. That's the way it seemed. Disappointment haunted all my dreams."_

With the first chorus, I hopped down to the dance floor. _"Then I saw her face!"_ I started to dance to music, smiling happily as I got into it. _"Now I'm a believer! Not a trace of doubt in my mind! I'm in love, I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried!"_

Over at the wedding table, I saw Shining put a loving hoof on Mia's. She smiled.

" _I thought love was more or less a givin' thing, but the more I gave the less I got."_ I sang. Looking around the reception, I saw the other ponies were dancing. _"What's the use in trying? All you get is pain. When I needed sunshine I got rain."_

Pinkie seemed even more energetic than usual. She started singing with me, going as far to get her own microphone. _"Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer!"_

" _Not a trace of doubt in my mind."_ I sang with laughter. _"I'm in love, I'm a believer I couldn't leave her if I tried."_

Pinkie and I started dancing like crazy. _"Love was out to get me. Now that's the way it seemed. Disappointment haunted all my dreams..."_

Singing the chorus again, I began going to the middle of the crowd. I pulled at my mane for the first part, and shook my head fiercely as I sang.

The crowd was having fun with it. The music peaked, my horn glowed and suddenly I appeared on top of the speakers. I sang the last chorus with gusto and the crowd was loving it.

"I'm a believer." I finished, moving the mic back towards Vinyl as the audience clapped.

I hopped down onto the ground, trotting back towards Mia and Shiny. They waved proudly at me as I sat next to Mia.

The bride lightly hugged me, or should I say suffocated me.

Mia looked at me with shining purple eyes. "Razzle that was amazing! I told you that you could do it!"

"I know, I know, I'm awesome at singing. I got enough of that from… my family." They're dead in Equestria. I took a deep breath. "Ya know, before all that. I would've done more with it, but, ya know, reasons."

My friend nodded, rubbing a hoof on my back while still smiling.

"Don't worry Razzle, I'm sure wherever they are, they're proud of you." Mia comforted.

"I guess they are…" I smiled, looking up at the stars. "I guess they are."

The two of us sat in silence for a brief moment. "Oh, I almost forgot." Mia said. "Happy Birthday. Number twenty."

"Three hundred and sixty five days and I can drink beer." I laughed. "Throwing a wedding on my birthday, where Shapeshifters attack, and I get to kick their sorry behinds into next week! The only present that make it better is if I had-"

"Met a nice colt?" Mia suggested.

I dropped my jaw. "Mia!"

The pink Alicorn just giggled.

The rest of the night was calm, I partied until Mia and Shining went off. I stayed the night and early the next morning I took the first train to Ponyville.

==DMLB==

 _Chrysalis_

Getting up to my hooves, I growled darkly. The blast had sent my miles from the Hive. Using my magic, I could tell some of my changelings had managed to awaken earlier and were in the Hive already, some were too weak.

Just what I needed. Not only am I humiliated by a pony, I am losing my children. I suppose I should be grateful he did-

"Hello Chrysalis."

I turned sharply towards the source of the voice. This was a pest I would trade Raspberry for. "What do you want?"

"You had one job." It reminded.

"Show yourself! Face me!" I shouted. "I have had enough of your hiding in the shadows!"

A figure walked out from the shadows. It was a him. The pony that caused all of this.

I snarled. The pony, a stallion, chuckled. "I told you not to listen to Raspberry Stardust, and what did you do?"

I hissed. "Do not speak to me, the Queen of the Changelings, in that condescending tone!"

His black eyes glowed as he grinned. I felt his magic wrap around my throat, constricting my airway. Some more magic grabbed my insides, pulling at various organs. I dropped onto my knees, teeth grinding.

"You will find, Chrysalis, that it is _I_ who hold the power." He stated.

"But...but...you...aren't...a...a unicorn." I grunted.

He only laughed at my pain. "True, I am an earth pony. We have more pressing matters. Like, what were your orders?"

"You never told me that Raspberry Stardust could control lightning!" I growled weakly.

"You wouldn't have learned that if you listened to me." The stallion snapped. "You would never have even needed to receive that order if you had killed her when I told you all those years ago."

I rolled my eyes. "You told us to take the dragon, you never said to kill-"

"Anyone would know that to kidnap a child properly, you need to kill the mother." The commanding stallion stated, as if he had a thousand times. "You were just too thick to figure that out."

His black eyes glowed again, and suddenly the pain in my gut doubled. "The drone I sent already killed her parents and siblings!"

"And I wanted Raspberry _dead_ _with them_." He snarled. The stallion paused, taking a deep calming breath. "Alright. Your failure to follow orders just may be a blessing in disguise. Maybe I should get used to it, since you can't do anything without screwing up."

I could only wince in pain.

"Raspberry Stardust and those ponies will bond closer than they ever had, becoming friends. She will start to let others in." The stallion began to nod. "Yes. Then, right when they are at their weakest, we will strike."

"How exactly do you plan to do that, Logan?" I coughed.

The stallion walked up to me. I was finally able to see his black mane with brown streaks. His forest green coat blended well with the forestry. I couldn't see his cutiemark, but I remembered it was a tiger paw over a-

"Go after Raspberry when and how I tell you to, and you shall see." The demon stallion grinned.


	43. The Crystal Empire, Featuring Raspberry

The train ride was much shorter than I thought. It was just under four hours.

It had been an interesting few weeks to say the least. I had gone back Home once things had settled. School had been fairly boring for the most part, thankfully Care and Maddie were around so I could have fun.

Things were going great...until I ended up in _Bride of Chucky_. Darcy had managed to bring herself back to life, don't know how. I had managed to get pretty far along before she showed up.

I winced, a hoof reaching for my shoulder blade. A new scar sat there, a result of dying again. That's where I got all of my scars, dying always leaves a mark.

There was a sort of healed bullet wound on the side of my head, hidden by hair, and a bullet wound right beneath my heart. I had a stab wound right next to my belly button, and at the base of my spine.

There were some incidences where I was poisoned, so I don't know where those scars go. I think there was a mark at my heel, from someone slicing it open. That one hurt, a lot.

Darcy had some too, though not all from dying. One was on her back, at her spine, where she was hit by a sword. Another was on her wrists from one of those _Saw_ games she played. The scar on her forehead though was just an accident, a car crash when she was eight. She survived, but she's had that scar ever since.

It was my fault, of course, her dying. I shoved her into a fan, I shot her just last week, I should have been paying more attention during that crash. All of her deaths could have been prevented if I tried harder.

Well, except one. That one was actually kinda funny. She drowned in cream cheese. You heard me, drowned in cream cheese.

Finally, I noticed I arrived at the Crystal Empire Palace.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" I cheered, galloping over towards the doors. "What's up Mia?!" I shouted up to her.

The pink princess waved at me, a kind smile on her face. "Auntie asked me to help watch over the Crystal Empire, Raspberry!"

I trotted up to her side, taking a good look at the Crystal Palace. "Woah. This place is shiny."

You would think the light shining on the palace would reflect onto you, but it didn't. It was almost like the crystals in the palace were absorbing the heat, the same way insulation does. This actually looked amazing. It kind of reminded me of the Diamond Castle, but more crystals.

I made my way under the archway, standing pretty close to where the Crystal Heart was supposed to be. My plan for that was simple. Twilight had to face her fear in order to get the Crystal Heart, but Spike didn't have to. He could still be there, so as to take the credit for when he saves the Crystal Empire.

As soon as I conquered the Fear Door, I would run back to the Palace under the guise of checking on the others. That, and it would give me an excuse to compose myself when my fear came. I had a good idea of what it was, and I might need a bit of time for that. Once I made back up to the Palace I would take over for Cadence, build up a love shield so she could be a bit stronger when she saved Spike.

It had to be Twilight who got back the Crystal Heart.

Then, I would sing the song and everything would be alright.

Did I just jinx myself?

==DMLB==

 _Cadence_

Raspberry and I were laughing happily as we walked towards my new throne room.

"I still can't believe it." She laughed. "Celly just gave you a throne room! The best gift I ever got from _my_ aunt was a stuffed cat."

I giggled. I still felt weak from holding up the shield. "I know! I didn't think I could handle it at first, but Auntie says she has faith in me."

Raspberry nodded, looking up at my glowing horn. "I know you can too." My friend encouraged. I smiled. "You need any help, though?"

I shook my head. "Raspberry, I won't be needing your help this time. I think I am fully capable of ruling a kingdom."

"I meant with the spell." Raspberry clarified. I tilted my head. "Magic exhaustion is serious. You don't wanna be on the wrong side of that, or it'll kill ya."

My resolve shook slightly. I know Raspberry had the utmost faith in me, in everypony, but I still felt slightly hurt that there was some doubt. I was extremely tired, but my magic was the only thing keeping King Sombra out. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"That's code for _'not fine at all'_." Raspberry pointed out. "I'm good at reading ponies, Mia. You are not fine. I speak from experience."

I actually smiled at that, although it was weak. My friend had started coming out of her shell, out of that deep sadness she had since Killjoy died. It was heartwarming to see her being more honest with me.

Raspberry gave me a pointed look. "Mia, you could always tell me how to make a love shield. I'm a good student, remember? Learned that glamour spell just listening to a conversation?"

"Raspberry!" A voice suddenly shouted.

The two of us jumped slightly. I looked towards the door to the throne room, seeing Shining Armor in the doorway.

Raspberry smiled at him. "Hiya! What's up Shin-"

"What are you doing here?" My husband barked.

I had never heard Shining that angry before. Raspberry rolled her eyes, as if she had been dealing with this all of her life. I remember what she told me about those ponies in her school, the ones who bullied her. She probably _had_ been dealing with this her whole life.

"Is it so wrong that I wanted to see my friend?" Raspberry asked.

"She came here to help, Shining Armor." I explained.

Shining walked closer to us, glaring angrily at Raspberry. The mare just ignored his look.

"Shining Armor, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"She's here." He said, pointing a hoof at my friend. "Who knows why this time."

"I came to help." Raspberry nearly snapped.

"Help?" Shining laughed. "You? The mare who ruined my wedding?"

"Shining!" I gasped.

"She did, Cadence!" Shining yelled, pointing a hoof at Raspberry. "It was all your fault!"

Raspberry looked ready to retaliate. Her hoof was raised to yell at him. She stopped fairly quickly. Her eyes went wide and her hoof slowly dropped to the crystal floor.

"Huh?" She asked, it didn't even sound like her. She sounded less, upbeat and more downcast.

"Shining-" I started.

"Your fault! If you had told us about Chrysalis then we could've stopped the invasion!" Shining yelled at her. "But _no_ you had to make a deal with that bug and give her my sister! You had to be in the spotlight! You could've stopped it all, but you didn't because you're nothing but a traitor! A lying traitor! _IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!"_

I recoiled in shock. I had never seen Shining Armor like this before, he looked enraged. Raspberry was different too, she looked ready to collapse from a gust of wind. Her eyes shined, not with their usual cheer but with tears.

"…it was my fault…again." My friend mumbled.

Before I could reach out to her, she had run off.

"And good riddance!" Shining Armor yelled at Raspberry.

Giving Shining Armor a sharp look, I let him know without words that what he just did was cruel.

When he turned to look at me, he lowered his head and his ears.

"How could you say that to our friend?" I asked him.

"She lied to us Cady, she didn't tell us about the invasion or how Chrysalis took you to the Crystal Caverns! She didn't tell anypony!" Shining argued.

"Razzle had her reasons, I'd appreciate if you thought over what you just did to her." I instructed.

"I set her straight!" Shining reasoned.

"You broke her heart!" I yelled. Shining took a step back in shock. We never argued, never. Taking a calming breath, I looked out at the city as my shield protected it. "Twilight and her friends will be here soon. Go help them into the Empire."

I didn't turn my head as Shining walked out, I only listened as his hooves hit the floor and the door opened and closed.

Please, Razzle, please be okay.

==DMLB==

 _Morgan_

Rubbing my hooves together to prevent hypothermia, I looked over the Crystal Fair. It sure looked fun, but I bet I wasn't invited. I might screw something up, again. Maybe I would break the Crystal Heart, or maybe I would somehow burn down a tent or even burn a pony. Anything bad could happen.

Letting out a sigh, I thought back to my sister. My dearly departed sister. If she were here, she would be hitting me until I snapped out of it. Darcy hated criers, she said they ruined all her fun.

A new sound broke me from my thoughts. A whooshing sound. A rainbow streak shot across the Empire.

The shield. It'll fall any second. I don't have much time!

Wait…how do I make a love shield? Maybe I think about the ponies I care about? Yeah, yeah that'll work.

Charging up my horn, I noticed just barely an inch of a yellow shield coming up.

My sister, Darcy, who was my best friend. She was always there, giving me comforting words or truthful words when I needed them. She was the one who would give me a nice hard slap when it was due. She was my only sister.

No! No! No! My shield was going down! It was already a foot high but going down! Thinking about Darcy wasn't working!

Who else could I think about that I loved more than Darcy?

Something fell out of my saddlebags next to me, I reached for it and saw…a ruby.

Of course.

Lilac. My sweet little dragon. She has the most adorable smile, her laugh made me feel like I was flying. Whenever she looked at me with those blue eyes I would lose myself.

I love when I sing her to sleep and she curls up next to me. Some nights, she'll have problems sleeping so she'll sneak into my room and crawl into my bed with me.

Lilac, her purple scales shined in the light. Those blue ones atop her head going off to one side were such fun to mess with.

When she would run off to crusade I always loved helping her get her cape on. Lilac was happy to play with her friends even though she couldn't get a cutiemark. Lilac would run into the house and say that she had just been doing some fun activity or how close she felt to finding her special talent.

She is my daughter, and I love her with all my heart.

Opening the eyes I didn't even know I had closed, I saw a large yellow dome covering the Empire. A black shadow was beating against the side, but I was still holding it up. It worked.

Soon after, though, a blue sky went over my shield. It hid Sombra from view. I was still pouring magic into the shield, letting my thoughts of Lilac keep it up.

...until I collapsed onto the snow.

==DMLB==

The kingdom was saved.

Twilight and her friends had come hours ago. Shining's horn ended up covered in black stones thanks to Sombra's magic. He stayed by my side after that. For the next few hours, Twilight and her friends worked to fix everything.

They had managed to throw a Crystal Fair, hoping that would protect the empire. I ended up collapsing, giving Sombra a chance to attack. It was during this the we realized we needed the real Crystal Heart. Sombra had ripped out the last page of the history book.

Once I awoke, I found out Twilight had gone looking for the Heart with Spike. The Crystal ponies had caught on to the deception, and were cowering in fear throughout the Empire.

My magic failed a second time, and Sombra was about to attack us. When out of nowhere, a giant yellow dome covered the Empire. It kept Sombra out for while longer.

During that time, Shining and I noticed Spike fall from the top of the palace. The real crystal heart (strongly resembling the one on my cutiemark) just ahead of him. Shining managed to throw me at it, letting me catch Spike who in turn caught the heart.

The dome fell after that. I landed in the Crystal Empire, showing the real crystal heart to the citizens. We put it back in it's rightful place, and waited for the Crystal Ponies to work their magic.

Sombra was finally destroyed. The Empire was at peace.

I was walking back to the throne room, feeling much stronger than before. Now I wish Raspberry was here, at least so I could know she was alright. I was worried.

"Cadence!" Twilight cheered. I turned towards her, making sure to smile. She had all of her friends with her.

"Hello Twilight."

The unicorn smiled, then frowned. "What's wrong? We won!"

"Raspberry still hasn't returned." I explained. "I'm starting to think something happened."

Twilight shook her head. "Cadence, she'll be fine. Believe me when I say Raspberry is a hard pony to knock down. I once saw her face off against a pack of diamond dogs!"

I was a bit surprised at that, but had a feeling I shouldn't. Fighting off diamond dogs, wizards, witches, fairies, it was strange that she could handle all of that but Shining Armor yelling at her is what broke her.

"I know she can handle it." I said. "But, she's been gone for three hours. She could be hurt. Sombra's first attack hurt a lot of ponies, and the guards are still looking for-"

The doors to the palace suddenly burst open, two guards rushing inside.

"Your majesty, we found a pony out in the Frozen North." A guard said, showing us all the pony lying on the stretcher.

Her coat was so covered in snow, I almost thought that was her natural color. The same for her mane and tail. They were completely covered in both ice and snow. Then, a small white cloud appeared outside her muzzle.

She was breathing.

"She's still alive?" I asked.

The guard nodded.

"Where was- Dash don't!" Twilight shouted.

I turned towards the pony. Hovering knee her was the blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash. She was about to poke the pony with her hoof.

"What? I'm not gonna hurt her." Rainbow Dash said, nudging the unconscious pony.

"Rainbow! That pony nearly died!" Applejack scolded.

Rainbow rolled her pink eyes. "I _know_. I just wanted to see-"

"KEEP IT UP!" A familiar voice shouted.

"Raspberry?" I asked, turning to the door.

Nopony ran through, I heard Fluttershy gasp.

 _Oh Auntie no._

My head looked back towards the pony lying on the stretcher. Her head was lifted up. Her eyes shut tight in concentration. She made a small grunt. Her forehead glowing a familiar amber.

"Oh my." Pinkie said.

"By the stars!" Rarity gasped. "Look! Outside!"

The whole group looked out the infirmary windows. A large dome was being placed over the Empire. A golden one.

"That's the same dome that came up after your's failed, Cadence." Twilight explained. "But...that means-"

"Raspberry made the shield." I came to the conclusion just before Twilight.

I looked back at my friend.

She was barely keeping the magic up, the tip of her horn glowing. Some of the snow managed to fall off when she stood up, revealing some of her raspberry pink coat. The snow in her mane was coming out, but only because Raspberry was shaking under the strain: midnight blue, with silver streaks.

The magic flickered, as did the shield. Raspberry let out a pained grunt, and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Get her to the infirmary." I instructed. "This pony is my friend, and she helped save this Empire. Go!"

The guards nodded, dragging the stretcher off.

Oh Razzle, what were you thinking?

==DMLB==

 _Morgan_

When I woke up, my head was pounding. I think I was suffering magic exhaustion again. I wonder what idiotic thing I did this time.

"Shining! Mares! She's waking up!" Mia?

I felt something land on me, three times, each one cutting off more air.

"We're so happy you're okay Razzle!" Pinkie?

"We were so scared." Fluttershy?

"I thought you weren't gonna wake-up." Lilac...

Opening my eyes slowly, I saw ponies gathered around a bed. The Mane 6 were scattered, but Shy and Pinkie were hugging me. Twilight was off to the side next to Shining Armor, looking a little upset.

Mia was standing next to my bed, smiling as my friends and daughter hugged me tightly. A shiver went up my back, I felt like I was freezing.

"Is she alright?" Rarity asked.

"What happened? It's all such a blur. How'd I end up in a hospital? Did I do something stupid again? I'm telling you, I should get a stamp every time I do something stupid or maybe I should have a limit. It wouldn't matter, I'd pass that limit in a day. Why am I so cold? Did I die? Is this Heaven? No. That wouldn't explain why you all are here." I blabbered.

"She's alright." Mia giggled.

"When did you six get here? Or Lilac, I left you with the Cakes! Also, can the two ponies and dragon get off me!" Pinkie and Fluttershy hopped off, backing away towards the others, Lilac still kept up her grip. "Seriously though, can somepony tell me what just happened. I feel like my hooves froze off."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"You nearly did Razzle." Mia said.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"You were stuck out in the Frozen North for hours." Mia went on. "A pair of guards found you. The doctors say if they hadn't found you by then-" She cut herself off, frowning.

I looked to the others. They all looked pretty scared, especially Lilac (who didn't let me go). I noticed a blanket wrapped tightly around me, as well as something beneath my bed warning it up. It felt nice, I'll admit, like a warm bath, but a bit unexpected.

Sure, I nearly got hypothermia, but I think this was actually tame considering how else I could have screwed things up.

I shrugged. "Not so bad."

"Not so bad?!" Rainbow shouted. "You almost froze to death!"

"Freezing to death doesn't sound so bad." I shrugged. "Better than a heatstroke. Plus, I like the cold. It's super nice once you get used to it."

Twilight dropped her jaw. "You make it sound like you wanted to die out there!"

"It wasn't my intention." I shrugged. "Honest, but of all the ways to go-"

"Please stop." Mia said.

I opened my mouth to reply, but then j saw the truly sad look in Mia's eyes. She was really worried about me.

"H-hey." I held up my hooves. Well, hoof, Lilac was holding the other one. "No. Stop that. No crying, especially over me. Just...stop, okay?"

Mia still looked sad. "You almost died today, Raspberry."

"I'm Raspberry Stardust, it's an occupational hazard." I excused, weakly. I tried to give them a smile, showing I was okay. "And I'm not dead, so stop crying. I hate making others upset."

"Then don't do this again." Mia pleaded.

I frowned. "Okay." I said, not sure if I actually could.

Lilac held me tighter. I wished I had my hands again so I could do the same.

==DMLB==

It was later that day when anyone else showed up. I had been left to my own devices, mostly. The blanket was keeping me warm, as well as the heating spells placed over my bed. You learn something new every day.

Lilac had fallen asleep, so I put her on the bed next to me. This bed was really warm, and I don't think it was made with a dragon in mind. I was watching her sleep, feeling so much like my mother who has a phone full of photos of us sleeping. She looked peaceful, something better than the few nights of nightmares after the wedding.

It was Shining that came up to my bedside. I felt a bit embarrassed, realized I had a total meltdown earlier. Entirely my own fault.

"Hi." I greeted him.

Shining paused, hesitantly raising his hoof. "Hi."

I smiled, resting my head on the pillow. "So, I accept your apology and you are forgiven. Let us forget today and move on."

Shining blinked his pink eyes. "But Raspb-"

"I'm a profiler a heart, Shiny Hiney, I could see it on you. Basic actions of somepony coming to apologize. You're cool, I'm cool, so let's get past this and let it go."

"But I was-"

"Going to be very sincere." I interrupted him again. "Very true, very true. I expected tears, maybe from us both. I, however, would like to avoid that. I wronged you, you wronged me. We're even, it's done, no go before Lilac wakes up."

"But-" The unicorn started.

"Say but one more time and I will kick your's!" I warned.

"It was my fault that you were out there." Shining argued.

"Talk like that got us into this mess." I pointed out.

Shining frowned.

I sighed. "When one does wrong, they must own up to their mistakes. Rule Thirty Three." My friend seemed confused, still. I placed my hoof over my heart. "I did wrong by you, Shining Armor, and I am deeply regretful of my actions on the day of your wedding. The ends did not justify the means used, and I knew that going in. It would've endangered countless other ponies if I included you, Mia being one of them. I simple couldn't tell you. If I told you, it would've ended up back with Chrysalis and she would speed up her plans."

Shining seemed to accept it, partially. "She might not have."

"I've seen this sort of thing a thousand times, and I'll see it a million more." I admitted. "Provoke your enemy, and he will fight back."

That made Shining snort. "What rule is that?"

I blinked. He was actually catching on! I smiled. "Forty-three."

Shining nodded. "Good. That was a good one."

My head tilted, slightly. Shining seemed like a good guy. A really, really good guy. It was really rude of me to fuck up his wedding, but it was the best way I knew to stop Chrysalis. He was Captain of the Royal Guard, and now he was Prince Regent of the Crystal Empire. Or actual Prince, I didn't exactly look at the Crystal KIngdom hierarchy.

"Can you tell me some more?" Shining asked. "Cady said some of them were actually very good."

He was overprotective of Twilight, something I understood completely. I've been the eldest sibling for many of my Jumps, with the occasional older brother. Keeping my family safe was usually my main thing, keeping them out of the Story for as long as I possibly could. If I had kept Darcy out of it for just a little bit longer, she might still be alive today.

Who knows, maybe telling Shining my Rules would help in the future. Shining Armor might even be more trusting in me, which I needed. I needed some friends. Gosh, I needed friends. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Cheerilee, and Mia were great, but for some reason Raspberry Stardust can't make it by with just a hoofful of friends. I actually liked having friends.

These Rules, they were as much a part of me as Lilac. Sharing them is kinda big, especially if I share a bunch at once. Otherwise it's just me trying to help.

"Well, I will." I decided. Shining smiled, taking the seat next to my bed. "On one condition."

Shining just snorted. "Of course. Cadence said that too. A favor, for a favor."

I nodded. "I would like...a cupcake."

The Captain of the Guard blinked. "What?" He laughed.

"A double chocolate cupcake." I said, shaking my head. "No! I like regular chocolate, with vanilla icing, and not that cruddy icing you get at some bakeries that's all crusted together like it was frozen or something. I want the good icing that's all smooth and nice!"

Shining shook his head, still smiling. "Alright. One chocolate cupcake with good icing."

I clapped my hooves. "Yay!"

"You really are just a grown five year old, aren't you?" Shining laughed.

"Three!" I corrected him. He laughed again. Pinkie was right, it was nice to see my friends smile. "Okay. Okay. Pay attention. I don't really like repeating myself."

Shining raised his brow. "Maybe sometimes, but not right now." I turned serious. "If I repeat myself during the Rules, it's because you aren't listening. I find that disrespectful. I may not follow some of your rules, Shining, but I at least listen when you tell me them."

The unicorn nodded.

"The first three are kinda biggies." I explained. "Rule One: I lie. Rule Two: Make the impossible, possible. Rule Three: Never give up."

The two of us spent the rest of the afternoon talking about my Rules, and Shining telling me stories about his time in the guard. There was actually a funny story about his and a pegasus named Flash.

==DMLB==

The hospital room was actually very warm. When in the Frozen North, you would expect a soft breeze. Apparently nopony wanted me to re-catch hypothermia so they locked up the windows tight. A nurse had tucked me in all nice and snug. Beside me, I heard the semi-quiet beeps of the heart monitor.

I whistled a random song, bored out of my mind. Was anything exciting gonna happen? I wanted more action! That would get my blood pumping! Warm me up, so to speak.

"Hello sweetheart."

My eyes widened. That should do it.

I turned to the door, seeing three figures walk in.

She was a pegasus mare. Her coat was a light shade of brown, like hot chocolate powder. Her mane was bright red, almost orange like fire, it was almost Pinkie Pie levels of curly. I could barely make out her gray eyes. Her cutiemark was of her TARDIS diary, a swirling golden Time Vortex behind it.

The next was a unicorn mare. The coat was a deep neon purple. Her mane was dark raspberry pink, and brushed back with a copper brown headband just behind her ears. Her eyes stood out, a bright shade of electric blue.

The last was was a pegasus too. He had a green coat, like trees. His mane was orange, and scruffy. His eyes were a bright shade of yellow.

Around the pony's neck was a brown squirrel. Kinda weird, reminding of those squirrels from _Pound Puppies_. Looking at him with the squirrel was like seeing Fluttershy with Angel. The squirrel had a green collar, though.

I tried (and failed) to hold back my giggles. "You look ridiculous." I laughed.

River rolled her now silver eyes. "Says you. You're pink."

I glared playfully. "Who are your friends?"

"Colleagues." River said. "We came to talk to you."

I raised a brow.

"I'm Dawning Tree." The pegasus stallion said. He lifted his shoulder. "This is Daffodil."

"Amethyst Fashion." The earth pony said.

"Dawning Tree, Amethyst Fashion, and Daffodil." I nodded. "You have fun friends."

River smirked. "You have no idea."

"Why are you here?" I asked. Who knows when a nurse will come back?

River trotted up to my bedside. There was a serious look in her silver eyes. "You told us this was the safest point in your timeline to talk to you."

I nodded, considering that. "I'm in a hospital. Can't run from you."

"You do have the tendency to run from strangers." Amethyst said. She walked over to the window, looking over the Crystal Empire. "We saw what you did out there." Her blue eyes glared at me. "That was amazingly stupid."

I smirked. "Or, amazingly clever."

"No. It was stupid." Dawning Tree agreed, though it came out a bit mumbled.

"We don't have time for you three to argue." River reminded.

"Right." I said, looking back at her. "What news does Future Me bring?"

The brown pegasus frowned. It was the frown she got when she told the Doctor his name, like she didn't want to say what she was about to say.

"It's time for the stars to go out."

My eyes widened, almost watering. Damn it. I really, really didn't want to do that day yet. I wasn't nearly ready for it! I mean, yes, my powers were finally able to make the connections. I knew that episode like the back of my hoof.

But, if it all went wrong...I would lose Donna... "Do I have to?"

"It's from you." Was all she said.

I frowned. "Biscuits!" The two other ponies snickered. "I don't want to say goodbye to her."

River frowned deeper. "Donna Noble. The only companion who understood."

Donna saw herself as unimportant. I did too. The only difference is that she was proven wrong. Donna knows what it feels like to feel unimportant, and have people who care about you do nothing to prove you wrong. Yeah, I had an inflated ego but that was just because of the Jump to Equestria. It was aspects of Raspberry's personality mixing with my own. When I wasn't helping, or making my life worth something, I was just a failing high school student with no job, car, friends, and a very big obsession with TV. So, pretty much like any other teenage girl.

And now Donna could die. "Is there anything I can do?"

River patted a goof on my shoulder. "Make it a good one."

A sad smile came to my face. "Donna Noble is the greatest story out there."

River smiled her troublemaker smile. "Not the Doctor?"

"Dear Storyline, no!" I laughed.

All four of us laughed. Daffodil let out this weird noise that I guess was a laugh.

I wanted to know who those two ponies were. If they got my Doctor joke, and we're okay being ponies, and one had a squirrel pet, then I must trust them in some way. It was too early in my timeline, though. I would know them later, and trust them. I would have to.

Future Me sent all three (four, if you count Daffodil) of them here. I just know it.

"I'll go to _Turn Left_ as soon as I get back to Ponyville." I said.

River nodded, flying back towards the other. "Until next time, sweetheart."

I smiled. "I look forward to it, Melody."

She had her hoof on the door. River was frowning. "And Terra, I'm sorry." I tilted my head at her. "But you have to go with Plan B."

I gasped. No...not Plan B...


	44. Journey's End

**Spoilers for my Doctor Who fic. You can still read this, but just know it'll spoil a lot of what happens in the Fallen Star Saga.**

 **Also, I know some of you don't read Doctor Who. I hope I explained the characters enough, and again remember there are spoilers for Seasons 1-4.**

==DMLB==

The Doctor was regenerating.

It has been a pretty busy day, that was for sure. I mean, yeah, going to the alien market Shan Shen was normal for us. We had been to almost a dozen of them with Rose way back when.

This trip was supposed to be a calming one. Yesterday we had stopped a coup on the planet Xoelia, an invasion on Qouater, and helped the people of Rama build their Treeborg prototypes. All in all, a pretty normal day.

Donna had been a bit weirded out though. The Ramaians looked basically like Davy Jones from the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movie, except they were blue and not pirates. Well, maybe that one was a pirate...

Sorry. Not helping. Back to my story.

The Doctor decided to take us to the Shan Shen market after Donna asked/ordered him to take us somewhere calming. The Time Lord went along with it, if only because the last time he said no to that (also the first time) Donna kept hitting his arm till he said yes.

I had been holding off on this for over ten years, hoping that by the time I'd come up with a way to save her life. I'd gone Home while wandering around. Donna had just walked into the tent. So, it was like hopping right onto a moving train when I came back.

The Doctor and I had gone running towards Donna, appearing just in time to see the beetle drop from her back. She explained to us her dream, how the Doctor and I had died with the Racnoss, that all the other things we had stopped had gone on and killed most of planet earth.

Then she brought up the people who had told her the Doctor and I called her important. That's right, people, plural. It wasn't just Rose helping fix the gaps in time. The Doctor had pressured her on Rose, so all I knew was that someone else had been helping. Dang, that made me mad!

After that, we rushed to Planet Earth-yadda yadda yadda. You know how today goes! If you haven't watched it on Netfljx a trillion times (like I did), then you read about it in a fanfic!

So, we landed on the resolute streets of London. Ours friends were in trouble, twenty-seven planets had been abducted, and I was starting to get hungry. The Doctor had pressured Donna again, asking her if Rose had said anything else, when the ginger said one of my top ten favorite lines on the show.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Oh, I had screamed when I saw Rose again. It had broken my hearts when we lost her at Torchwood. I had been arguing with myself over what to do for weeks. Originally I was all for letting myself fall into the Void instead. Then a sad realization came to me.

I was a Time Lady. The _Last_ Time Lady. Abandoned on Earth long before the Last Great Time War, with nothing more than a perception filter and the smoked up rags on her back. She managed to survive to my age at the time, 180, all the while avoiding the Doctor and his hijinks.

Then, ya know, I showed up. First Day. Real drag. Future Me had been there, Terra Four as she delightfully informed me. Eleven was there too, dressed up in purple tweed and a darker bowtie. Oswin had been there, which sent me reeling. It confused me more than that Christmas Special.

End of the day, I ended up regenerating into Terra Two. First Day and I was already dead. Well, I think I died twice, never really got to find out what happened to Four after Eleven dropped me off in 2005.

Where was I? Right. Losing Rose. She was a really great friend, one of the best. She was a person I could talk to when Doc was annoying me with teaching me about Time Lords and all that jazz.

But, I had to lose her, as much as it pains me to say. I realized I couldn't put the Doctor through the pain of losing his race again. He would have moved on eventually, and then he was going to lose the Master. It would just break him, and I couldn't do that to him.

Then we met Donna Noble. Lucky she was there to help with the Racnoss. I was useless against giant spiders (I blame Mister Waternoose). Then I met Martha, after pleading with the Doctor to let me go investigate the hospital alone. He had started yelling at me through the telepathic Time Lord bond thingy, so I began retaliating by calling myself the Doctor. That showed him!

Then, you know what happens Season Two. Shakespeare, Daleks, 42, the Family of Blood. That was when I regenerated into Three. That gave me a headache. The joke is funny because I was shot in the head.

Terra Three is ginger. Bright sunshine yellow eyes, olive skin, curly shoulder length ginger hair, and a dress I had patched together in the TARDIS. It had a raspberry pink bodice, a cool blue knee length skirt, wrist length snow white sleeves, and those cool shoulder puffs that had white and pink stripes! My shoes were pink boots, ones I always wore demanded immediately after I regenerated. There was a TARDIS blue bowtie around my neck, which I was told was a poor costume decision. Shows what Ten knows. It's not a real party until I'm wearing a bowtie.

There was a loud scream in front of me. I remembered where I was. Oops. Terra Three was kinda like Pinkie Pie and Annie, a bit air headed and loved to randomly start singing.

The Doctor reached out, blasting his spare hand. That was actually really fun to see Jack with the spare hand, back on Utopia. The hand glowed bright yellow as it took in the regeneration energy.

It was good to see Jack too. He was a great friend, reminding me a lot of Darcy way back when. He would have sec with anyone, he had killed people, and he felt like my annoying little brother. Last I had seen him, he was being tortured by the Master.

That's a time I would rather skip.

The Doctor just grinned up at the four of us. "Now then. Where were we?" The others stared stunned. I was relieved. He was fine. He was gonna be fine. The Time Lord walked over to his hand, leaning over. "There now."

The Doctor gently blew on it, the dust floating away. He was smiling. "You see?" He sat up, leaning on the console with his elbow. "Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but soon as I was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to. Why would I? Look at me." He fixed his tie, giving a quick look of questioning. Ten was really vain. "So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a _handy_ bio-matching receptacle, namely my hand." I giggled at the pun. Heard it billions of times but it was still funny. "My hand there. My handy spare hand."

He stood staring right at Rose. A sort of hopeful look on his face. Rose was looking down, her face half hidden by her straight blonde hair. "Remember? Christmas Day, Sycorax. Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand." Rose carefully looked up, still unbelieving that the Doctor almost died running to her. The Doctor gave her the same look he gave whenever he offered to take someone onboard. "What do you think?

Rose took slow steps towards him. Her shoes slightly echoing on the metal grating. "You're still you?"

The Doctor smiled, as if a five year old had asked him that. "I'm still me."

The two hugged, and I nearly squealed. Okay. I did. I started hopping up and down, my hands excitedly clapping together. I turned to Jack, beaming. The two of us had been trying to get them together practically since Jack joined the team. Seeing them together made the shipper in me happy, not gonna lie.

"You can hug me, if you want." Donna offered Jack, trying to sound nonchalant. The man, who I have seen flirt with an alien resembling Jabba the Hutt, just laughed. Donna frowned. "No, really. You can hug me."

Jack instead just turned to me, giving me a hug that lifted me into the air. I let out a loud laugh of surprise. "Put me down!" I laughed.

"Not a chance, Terra." Jack said.

I knew why he was hugging me so tightly. He was after the Torchwood episodes with Gray. First Terra had been working with the good people at Torchwood Three since 2005, even though she was physically a teenager. She's been like a sleeper agent, patiently waiting for me show up and ruin her life. Jack had explained that to me in Utopia. The Torchwood thing, not the ruining her life thing.

The phone call earlier showed what I needed to know. Tosh and Owen were alive. First Terra was tucked away in the dungeons, watching over the Weevils inside to make sure they were okay. Terra's memories told me that.

Their hug finally ended. They were both smiling wide. Suddenly, Rose turned around to face me. Jack put me down then. "Wait. But, you changed?"

My smile shook a bit. This was why I had waited until after Rose was gone to find a time to regenerate. The only place I knew with enough time to get myself figured out, and to give Terra Two time to prepare, after _Family of Blood_.

"Yeah." I admitted. "It was a long time after you, ya know. We were fighting aliens and I was trying to give Doc time to get out. I was totally fine after. Made myself this dress." I reached down the skirt, feeling the nice cool fabric in my hands. "Oh! And the boots! I love boots. Have you tried boots before? They're awesome. I like these pink ones cause it's my favorite color and I can run in them, like really really fast!"

Rose blinked. She looked like she was still struggling with the information that I had regenerated. She let out a sort of awkward laugh. "Wow. That's...that's good."

Terra Two was far from shy, she was more the strong and silent type. She would get excited at some things, and end up going on a typical teenager rant of joy. Those were Terra Three's most common form of communication. Haha, communication. That word's long.

Before I became this lovely lady, I thought about stuff it would be nice to have again. Stuff I hadn't had in awhile because of this life, stuff I thought I would never have again. Things like hope, or pure childlike joy, or any shred of innocence.

It felt really hard to think hopefully these days, especially after the Graveyard, but I kept on. Lilac was more than enough to remind me of why I should work to be better.

I clapped again, nearly hopping in place. "Huzzah! Rose you're back!" I nearly squealed, rushing up to my friend and hugging her tight.

Rose hesitated, but hugged me back. I was reminded of when she had been captured by Daleks, after being zapped by the teleportation thing. It felt like we would never see Rose again. It was scary.

"I missed you, Carolina Rose." I told her.

It was true. It had been almost fifteen years since I'd seen her last. Really, honestly seen her, not on a computer screen or Facebook photo. This was Rose 'Bad Wolf' Tyler. Why wouldn't I miss her?

Oh. That nickname. I gave it to her after _Father's Day_. Jackie had asked me to watch Rose, and she was crying so I sang her that song. Carolina Rose. I thought it fit her and Doc's relationship perfectly. Still do.

"Missed you too, Terra." Rose said. It was held back, but accepting. I guess she had hoped I was still Two, then realized time still moved here. I had to have changed at some point.

There was suddenly a loud banging noise. The lights in the TARDIS switched off, except for a few of the emergency ones and the blue light in the hand jar.

The Doctor immediately got back to work. "They've got us." He twisted a few knobs, dashing about the console. He ended up at the computer screen. "Power's gone. Some kind of chronon loop."

I held on tightly as the TARDIS tilted back. It was shaking worse than when he drove!

After awhile, it finally stopped. We were all able to get our footing back. Once that happens, Jack gave us the rundown of where we were going.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets. They're calling it the Crucible." Jack gave a somber look. "Guess that's our destination."

Donna looked over at Rose. "You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?"

The Doctor turned to the blonde a well, looking like he finally figured something out. "Rose! You've been in a parallel world. That world's running ahead of this universe. You've seen the future. What was it?"

Rose steeled herself. "It's the darkness." She admitted, sounding just the tiniest bit scared.

"The stars were going out." Donna recalled from her dream.

Rose only nodded. "One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying." She started slowing down, as if nervous. "Basically, we've been building this, er, this travel machine, this, this er, dimension cannon, so I could." Come on, Carolina Rose, just say it. "Well, so I could..."

The Doctor was already grinning. "What?"

"So I could come back." Rose explained, as if he couldn't figure it out.

I hummed K-I-S-S-I-N-G. The Doctor just grinned at her, letting out a happy laugh.

"Shut up." Rose told us both.

"I think that's an impossibility for me." I cheered, smiling proudly.

"Anyway, suddenly, it started to work and the dimensions started to collapse." The blonde got on with explanation, reminding us that we were stuck in a Dalek's holding beam. "Not just in our world, not just in yours, but the whole of reality. Even the Void was dead. Something is destroying everything."

Okay. The Doctor was looking a bit scared now. That was a scary thing to hear, that even the Void itself was dead. That made me start to think, though, could this reach my world, my Home? Could this thing reach Lilac?

No. No. This was a separate universe than mine, a whole other reality. This thing would go out to the edges of this world, but leave mine be. My daughter was safe.

My friends were not.

"In that parallel world." Donna spoke up again. "You said something about me."

"The dimension cannon could measure timelines, and it's, it's weird, Donna, but they all seemed to converge on you." Rose explained.

Donna shook her head. "But why me?" She asked. I watched her in sad understanding. "I mean, what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick."

And I'm a teenage girl from Charleston.

The computer screen began to beep. The Doctor went up to it, reading the screen. "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard."

The TARDIS shook again as we made our final descent.

" _Doctor. You will step forth or die."_ A loud voice proclaimed from outside.

The Doctor walked towards the door, stopping just at the end of the walkway. The rest of us took steps forward, waiting to see what he would do. I ended up standing next to Donna, remembering how the next few minutes would go for her. "We'll have to go out. Because if we don't, they'll get in."

"You told me nothing could get through those doors." Rose reminded.

"You've got extrapolator shielding." Jack added.

The Doctor turned to us, seeming just as helpless as we felt. "Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids, and mad. But this is a fully-fledged Dalek Empire, at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything. Right now, that wooden door is just wood."

That was when it started. The beating. The single heartbeat echoing in my ears. It was loud, and it was all I could focus on. There were some murmurs of the others talking, but I could only hear the beating.

If I was this bad and there was only one heartbeat, I can only imagine how bad it was for the Master. Four beats constant going on and on in his twisted little head.

Well, not so much twisted as it was dented. The Time Lords put him through that just so they could enact their stupid plan to eliminate the Daleks and put themselves up as gods. It made me angry. It really, really did. It was the main reason I used measures to put me on the TARDIS as the Master was stealing it.

"Terra?"

I blinked, shaking my head. I had forgotten where I was for a second. "Woah. Yeah. Um, sounds good." I said.

"Yeah." Donna jumped onto my bandwagon.

The Doctor gave us both sad looks. "I'm sorry. There's nothing else we can do."

I agreed with him. There was nothing else I could do to save Donna, nothing other than what was already being done.

"No, I know." Donna said.

" _Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek Masters."_ The Dalek ordered.

"Daleks." Rose nearly started to laugh. This was probably reminding her of the Bad Wolf.

"Oh, God." Jack joked. I guess a man who can't die wouldn't be scared of Dalek.

The Doctor had walked back up to the front of the group. He gave us all a questioning look. "It's been good, though, hasn't it? All of us. All of it. Everything we did." He smiled at Donna, proud. "You were brilliant." He turned to Jack. "And you were brilliant." Then Rose. "And you were brilliant." Finally, he looked at me. He smiled bright, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe I was there. "And you were brilliant. Blimey."

He turned to the door, slowly walking to the door.

Showtime.

==DMLB==

The Red Dalek began changing the second the doors were opened. "Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks!"

"Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks! Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks!"

All the while, I stood right in the doorway. Donna stopped nearly the exact time I did. The heartbeat was kicking in again. It was getting louder. It was getting closer.

"Behold, Doctor. Behold the might of the true Dalek race." The Red Dalek decreed.

Donna and I turned around, me looking straight at the hand.

"Terra! Donna!" The Doctor called out. "You're no safer in there."

That broke us out of it, but before I could even get one foot in the direction of the doors they slammed shut.

I stared at the doors for a second, momentarily confused as to why they shut. I remembered then that it was Dalek Caan, guiding us all towards fulfilling the prophecy.

Donna came up beside me, ending up pushing me away from the doors. She started hitting them. "Doctor? What have you done?" She yelled.

I looked towards the hand again. This was Plan B. Get stuck inside with Donna. I had told myself I would never let the Doctor go through the pain of being the last of his kind, the way I had felt for my whole life. At least he had people, I have nothing. I named my species, how sad is that?

Now I had to. I had to make him think I was dead, so I could save our best friend, because River Song said that's what I did.

I trust River Song. She wouldn't lie to me, not about this. Never about this.

" _It wasn't me. I didn't do anything."_ The Doctor informed.

"Oi! Oi, I'm not staying behind!" Donna yelled at him.

I started walking towards the hand. There was no heartbeat, yet I found myself just staring at it. What would happen if I touched it? What would my being a Jumper have on Doctor-Donna and the Metacrisis? Would they get any of my future knowledge? Would they get aspects of my personality? What if it gave them the ability to jump? That might have an effect on Rose and the Metacrisis (I already hate calling him that) staying in there world.

Oh my Storyline. What if he came out ginger? That might actually be funny.

" _What did you do?!"_ The Doctor yelled.

"Nothing!" I found myself saying on instinct. What? He did occasionally ask me that...when I did something really stupid...

" _This is not of Dalek origin."_ The Red Dalek said.

Donna kept pounding fruitlessly on the door. "Terra, can't you get this thing open?" She shouted at me.

I was about to responded, when I realized I couldn't think of a thing to say. What could I say? Those doors aren't gonna open for a long time Donna. Those doors will only open when you're basically dead, Donna. The Doctor'll think we're dead now so that the Daleks can crush his soul, Donna.

Why did I agree to Plan B?

" _Stop it! They're my friends. Now open the door and let them out."_ I'll admit, I was a boy touched that I was being included in his yelling.

" _This is Time Lord treachery."_

The Doctor scoffed. _"Me? The door just closed on its own."_

" _Nevertheless, the TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed."_

Then I remembered something important. I hated the Tower of Terror. Truly, honestly hated that ride.

The TARDIS dropped into that hole in the ground. I clung onto the console, screaming as we fell.

"Terra!" Donna yelled, grabbing onto the handrails.

"Donna!" I yelled back, keeping a firm grip on the console. Apparently traveling with the Doctor was like riding a bike, you never forget how tight to hold on.

Soon enough, the TARDIS started to explode. Fire appeared in random places, those round things started sparking up. Donna let out another yell as she ran over to the console.

I had to let the console go because it was burning up. Donna ended up practically falling next to the hand. I joined her there.

We started screaming again as the console sent out large sparks, a few nearly hitting us.

Smoke filled the console room. I started coughing to get it all out, Donna too. I wished I could have done this alone. She heard the beating too, no matter how much I wanted to save her from this.

Then the beating resumed.

Our coughs stopped as we turned to look at the hand. It was bubbling up, like when we met Jenny. It looked almost sickly gray, with the way the lights were hitting it.

I gently lifted my hand up, the chaos around me forgotten. Reaching out towards it, I touched the glass surrounding it. Beside me, Donna did the same.

Yellow regeneration every shot out from it, hitting me in my forehead. I gasped as I felt it reach inside of me, feeling it take parts of me to force into the Metacrisis.

The energy wrapped itself around me, going deeper and deeper. I started to pant as it absorbing the data needed for the completion. I even felt some of it being given up, but from Donna and the Doctor coming together inside my head. It was mixing me up.

Then, it exploded.

Donna and I were forced back in by the force. After a moment, we watched as it glowed brightly. Then it expanded, with legs and arms and a head.

He sat up. I could see the Tenth Doctor's face through the golden dust. The dust vanished in a flash, revealing the Doctor.

"It's you!" Donna said.

The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yes!"

I let out a squeak, covering up my eyes with my hands. "You're naked! Ew!"

"Oh, yes."

Two more lights went out. I kept my eyes covered. My first naked guy was not gonna be the Doctor!

==DMLB==

The Doctor patched up the last of lights, using the coat of blue pinstripe suit. I was sitting on the pilot seat, feeling relieved that everybody here was safe. Donna was still very confused over what had happened.

"All repaired. Lovely. Shush." He said, walking up towards the now repaired console. "No one knows we're here. Got to keep quiet." He started walking around the console. I followed after them, a giddy smile on my face. "Silent running, like on submarines when you can't even drop a spanner. Don't drop a spanner! I like blue. What do you think?" He said, sounding a lot like me when I get excited. Well, when Terra Three got excited.

"You are bonkers." Donna argued.

The Doctor seemed appalled. "Why? What's wrong with blue?"

"I think you look good in blue!" I cheered. "The blue's much more stand-outish than the brown one. It blended in, but the blue makes you stand out! Trust me, I know how to stand out. I'm dressed in pink, white, and blue!"

"Is that what Time Lords do?" Donna turned towards me. She was apparently very angry at the Doctor. "Lop a bit off, grow another one? You're like worms." She was starting to panic, get all shouty.

I shook my head. The Doctor was buttoning the last few buttons on his jacket. "No, no, no, no, no. He's unique. You ain't never had a friend like him." I sang that last part. Darn Three likes to sing.

"Because all that regeneration energy went into the hand." The Doctor said, holding up the old hand. "Look at my hand." He wiggled the fingers. "I love that hand. But then you touched it. Wham!" He flung it out us.

The two of us shouted. I started to giggle at the jump scare.

He shushed us. "Instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew out of you. Still, could be worse."

Donna growled. "Oi, watch it, spaceman."

The Doctor growled back. "Oi, watch it, Earth girl." The two flinched back, my dropped in equal states of shock. "Ooo. I sound like you."

"You sounded like me I minute ago." I commented

The Doctor nodded. "I did. I did. Now I sound all, all sort of rough."

"Oi!" Donna snapped.

"Oi!" The Doctor shot back. I rolled my eyes.

"Oi!"

I slapped my hands over their mouths. They looked over at me. This was my more preferred method of keeping the Doctor and the companion from arguing. "Children, behave." I scolded them. I turned to Donna. "He picked up some of our voices, that's all."

The Doctor flinched away. "Is it? Did I? Oh, you are kidding me. No way." He was gaping. "One heart. I've only got one heart. This body has got only one heart."

Donna gasped. I laughed. The two of us reached out, feeling his one beating heart. "What, like you're human?"

"Oh, that's disgusting." The Doctor grimaced, flinching away from us.

"Oi!" Donna snarled.

"Oi!"

"Not this again." I rolled my eyes, slapping my hands over their mouths again. "No more fighting." I glared at the Doctor. "Being human is not disgusting, shut up." I turned to Donna. "Now be nice. He's a growing boy figuring out his body." I could barely say the last part with a straight face.

I lowered my hands. Donna was actually grinning a bit at the joke. The Doctor was still disgusted. "No, wait. I'm part Time Lord, part human." He almost shrugged. "Well, isn't that wizard?"

Donna looked like she was figuring it out. "I kept hearing that noise, that heartbeat."

"Oh, that was him." I said, pointing at the Doctor. Said man walked behind me to work on the console. Strange thing is, I knew exactly what he was doing. Like, I knew which knob he was turning and why. Guess that's what I got from him, how to work the TARDIS console. "His single heart. Because he's a complicated event in time and space. It rippled back, converging on us. On you."

Donna frowned at us both, the big picture still unclear to her. "But why me?"

The Doctor shrugged like it was obvious. "Because you're special."

"Oh, I keep telling you, I'm not." Donna argued. I gave an almost unbroken frown. She honestly believes it.

The Doctor snapped his head up to attention. "No, but you are. Oh. You really don't believe that, do you?" He asked, those bits of Donna coming to life inside his head. They were practically mirroring the ones in my own head, so I understood what she was implying. How could I not? "I can see, Donna, what you're thinking. All that attitude, all that lip, because all this time you think you're not worth it." The Doctor pieced together.

"Stop it." Donna asked. There wasn't any of her usual force behind it. No snark, no sarcasm or any semblance of anger. She was just asking us not to see how she viewed herself.

The Doctor ignored it. "Shouting at the world because no one's listening. Well, why should they?" Then he turned to me. The Doctor was searching, and I could see it in his eyes. He was finding the parts of me in his head.

"Stop." I pleaded. "Stop that. Right now." The Doctor kept searching in his head. "Stop it!"

"You." The Doctor dropped his jaw.

What was he seeing? Was it how I knew about all of this? Was it that I knew how today was gonna end? Maybe it was that he was seeing any of the other stuff I knew about? Oh, Story this was a bad idea. Stupid, stupid me! What had I been thinking?!

"You." The Doctor pointed a finger at me. I flinched back, closing my eyes so I wouldn't have to see him get angry at me. Maybe he was seeing what I did to Darcy. What I did to all those other people who've died because of me.

"You're afraid of being left alone." The Doctor explained. "You're afraid of being abandoned by people you thought actually cared about you."

I looked down at my feet, feeling suddenly embarrassed at this. Please just figure out the whole destiny thing so we can move on. "Please stop." I asked.

"But you're not scared because they leave. You're scared of how they will see you." The Doctor said. He was close. Dear Story he was close.

"Please stop." I pleaded, shaking my head as I realized the only conclusion he could get to from this. "I am begging you. Stop looking at it."

"You are scared of them thinking you're a freak." The Doctor revealed.

I flinched, as if burned. "Don't call me that!" I screamed at him. The half human/Time Lord started gaping at me.

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, no. You think you're some kind of freak." I was about to start crying. I was not a freak. I was not a freak. "You try to hide by smiling all the time, by making jokes and laughing at everything, but you still think you're the freak."

I flinched back again. "Stop saying that word." I pleaded. "I hate that word."

"Why do you think that?" Donna asked, her voice as quiet as when she first found out about Rose.

My lip quivered a bit. _'Because it was the only thing I heard any time I went to school? Any time I was myself? Because they were the words that my sister told me in the time I needed her most?'_ I shook those thoughts out of my head. Apparently it was up to me to get us back to normal. "Donna, you are special. Just look at what you did. Your car, Donna, look what you did with your car."

Donna and the Doctor looked confused, the Doctor only for a moment. "My car?"

"It's like, we were always heading for this." The Doctor said, sounding like he was going to go on a rant again. "You came to the TARDIS, and you found us again. Your granddad. Your car. Donna, your car!" He waved his hands at her. "You parked your car right where the TARDIS was going land. That's not coincidence at all! We've been blind. Something's been drawing us together for such a long time."

"But you're talking like destiny. There's no such thing. Is there?" Donna asked, giving worried looks to the Doctor and I.

"It's still not finished." The Doctor's hands were gripping onto his forehead. He was reeling from all this stuff coming together. "It's like the pattern's not complete. The strands are still drawing together. But heading for what?"

There was suddenly a very loud buzz coming from the computer screen. The TARDIS gave a great big shake.

I turned to the screen. "The twenty seven planets. It's like they're charging up." I said.

"It's..." The Doctor leaned over, staring at the screen with me. "It's a-"

"Single string z-neutrinos compressed." I said. The Doctor gave me a wide eyed look. I shrugged. "What? Smartest kid in the room, Doc, keep up."

"No way." The Doctor said, looking back to the screen. He was horrified.

Then I remembered. Those people...the test subjects...all dead...Jackie was this close to being one of them.

The glow on the other planets vanished. The three of us backed away from it. I was grimacing in disgust. Those people did not deserve that. No one deserves that, except the icky Daleks.

Oh. Did I just say icky? Three has the strangest vocabulary.

"What was it? Doctor, Terra, what did it do?" Donna asked.

"Every atom in existence is bound by an electric field. Protons, neutrons, that stuff." I began. "Those planets coming together made a counterbalance to that electric charge, canceling it out." I took a few steps back, thinking over how to properly tell Donna. "That was just a test. Focused on..."

"On what?"

I gulped. "The humans they were taking from the planet. The tested in on the humans they stole." I gave her a serious look. "Once that thing reaches full power, it'll destroy everyone and everything. It won't stop-"

"The stars were going out." Donna reminded us.

"The twenty seven planets become a vast transmitter. Blasting that wave long across the entire universe. It'll never stop, not til it's all gone." The Doctor explained. "Davros is going to destroy everything."

I nodded. "We need to stop it." I turned to the Doctor. "Doc, you got a plan?"

The Doctor paused, looking grave.

==DMLB==

Donna held the mish mash of parts the Doctor was handing her. "So what is this thing?"

"It's our only hope." The Doctor explained, starting to build it. "A Z-neutrino biological inversion catalyser."

"Yeah. Earth girl, remember?"

"Davros said he built those Daleks out of himself." I explained.

The Doctor kept tightening the thing on top. "His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I can use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself-"

"It destroys the Daleks?" Donna finished.

The Doctor had a determined look. "Biggest backfire in history."

==DMLB==

The Doctor held up the finished product. "Ready? Maximum power!" I grabbed the device, giving him a nod.

The TARDIS lit up. The whirring noise started, and I smiled. Always loved that noise.

Once we knew we landed, I walked towards the doors.

"Terra, give me-"

"No." I snapped, turning to look at the Doctor. "Ladies first, Doc."

With that said, I grabbed the door handle. The doors opened up, and I stepped onto the Dalek Crucible.

"Not impossible." I shouted, lifting the weapon up a bit so it was aimed at Davros. What, it was the fake one right? ...right? "Just a bit unlikely."

I ran towards Davros, hearing the New Doctor following after me.

"Don't!" The Doctor screamed.

Davros held up his finger, and I saw the blue beam of lightning head straight for me. I dropped the weapon, my knees hitting the metal flooring. The New Doctor went down too, catching me before I could hurt myself on the ground.

"Activate holding cell." Davros ordered.

The New Doctor and I looked up, seeing the blue force field surrounding us. I turned to the others, giving a weak smile and a nervous wave.

"Doctor! Terra!" Donna yelled, running out from the TARDIS. She slid over, grabbing the gizmo. "I've got it. But I don't know what to do!"

"Donna!" I screamed as Davros blasted Donna back into the wall. She fell, hunched over. The New Doctor held onto me before I could jump after her. "Donna, talk to me! Please!"

"Donna! Donna! Are you alright, Donna?" The Doctor yelled.

Donna didn't respond. I felt like crying. Was she dead? She couldn't be dead. Not Donna. Never Donna. Donna was like family to me, she couldn't be dead.

I couldn't look away from Donna. The New Doctor held me back, even though I didn't fight back. She...she hasn't moved.

"Destroy the weapon." Davros ordered. A Dalek blasted it.

The New Doctor held my arms, helping me to my feet.

"I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic."

"How comes there are two of you?" Rose asked.

"Is she okay?" I whispered to the New Doctor.

"Human biological Metacrisis." The Doctor answered Rose. "Never mind that. Now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"Detonation in twenty rels." The Red Dalek yelled. It started counting down.

"Doctor, is Donna okay?" I whispered again.

He just kept holding onto me.

"Stand witness, Time Lord." Davros ordered as a screen popped up. "Stand witness, humans. Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and. Oh. The end of the universe has come."

Donna finally got up. She looked positively furious, like she was this close to slapping Davros in his slimy looking face.

Instead, she snuck over to the wire station.

"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

==DMLB==

The screen cut off. An alarm started going off. I smiled, brightly. It was working. It was working!

"Mmm, closing all Z-neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous backfeed reversal loop." Donna cheered, flipping another switch. "That button there."

I started to clap. "Woohoo! Go Donna! Go Donna!"

The Doctor was gaping at her. "Donna, you can't even change a plug."

"Do you want to bet, Time Boy?" Donna challenged.

"You'll suffer for this." Davros growled. He lifted his hand up.

Donna pouted, lifting a lever. David was electrocuted by his own blast. "Oh, bio-electric dampening field with a retrograde field arc inversion."

"Huzzah!" I cheered, clapping and hopping in the force field. "Huzzah for Donna!"

"Exterminate her!" Davros ordered.

"Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate."

Donna began flipping more controls, looking a bit bored. There was, however, a smug grin beginning to grow on her face.

No shots fired from the Daleks. "Weapons non-functional."

"Phwor." Donna almost rolled her eyes. Sorry, or was that me? Maybe both. "Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix."

"How did you work that out?" The Doctor asked. "You're-"

"Time Lord." The New Doctor and I said. "Part Time Lord."

"Part human." Donna finished. "Oh, yes. That was a three-way biological metacrisis. Part Doctor, part Donna, part Terra."

"The DoctorDonnaTerra." The Doctor said. "Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming. The DoctorDonnaTerra."

Donna responded to that with: "Holding cells deactivated. And seal the Vault." I ran over to Donna, giving her a great big hug.

"I thought you died for a second there." I informed her.

Donna patted my back. "And what? Miss this?" She laughed. She looked to the Doctors. "Well, don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits. Get to work."

They did as Donna ordered.

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls." Daleks yelled.

Another switch. "And spin."

I started clapping and hopping again. "Haha! You spin my head right round, right round." I sang. I went to the controls Donna had just used. "I wanna make them go the other way!"

Push the lever, spin the circle thing...

I giggled as they spun helplessly the opposite direction.

"What did you do?" New Doctor asked.

"Trip switch circuit-breaker in the psychokinetic threshold manipulator." I explained. The brown suited Doctor blinked at me. "Wasn't that obvious?"

New Doctor grinned. "But that's brilliant!"

The Doctor tilted his head. "Why did we never think of that?"

"Because you two were just Time Lords, you dumbos, lacking that little bit of human." Donna bragged.

"That gut instinct that comes hand in hand with Planet Earth." I cheered, smiling at Donna.

She smiled back. "I can think of ideas you two couldn't dream of in a million years. Ah, the universe has been waiting for me. Now, let's send that trip switch all over the ship." Donna gave us a bragging smirk. "Did I ever tell you, best temp in Chiswick? Hundred words per minute."

New Doctor cheered. "Ha!"

It just took a few flicked switches and levers. I looked towards the companion group, watching them carefully. Soon after, Jack made his way towards the TARDIS.

"Come on then, boys." Donna said once the other Daleks were dealt with. The Doctors looked up to her. "We've got twenty seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron."

Davros started driving up. "Stop this at once!"

Jack came running out from the TARDIS, holding the guns he and Rose brought onboard. That sentence made me frown. "Mickey!"

"You will desist!" Davros shouted.

I looked over to Dalek Caan. The little octopus was just watching over it all, letting out little pleased giggled.

Mickey trained his gun at the Dalek creator. "Just stay where you are, mister."

Jack kicked a Dalek. It rolled away on its little wheels. "Out of the way."

Sarah Jane and Rose were doing the same to the other Daleks. Even Martha was getting in on the fun!

"Good to see you again."

"Oh, you too."

"Ready?" Donna asked. I snapped to the Time Lord Team, seeing them finish up the last of the sequences.

I reached out, grabbing one of the rods. "And reverse." Donna said.

"Off you go, Clom." The Doctor cheered, pushing in the rod.

"Back home, Adipose Three." The New Doctor added, pushing in another one.

"Bye bye Pyrovillia!" I giggled, pushing in the one I was holding.

"Shallacatop, and the Lost Moon of Poosh. Sorted. Ha!" Donna cheered loudly.

I smiled at Donna. She was confident, you could see it in her eyes. She was finally using her full skills, being the most important woman in the universe. The most important person I know.

"Ha!" The New Doctor laughed.

"We need more power!" The Doctor said. He began pulling out wires and putting other ones together.

Rose came up, her mother by her side. "Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?"

Donna started. "He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand. The two of us-"

"Aloha!" I waved. I pointed at the New Doctor. "We touched the hand, and he grew out of that but that fed back into us."

" _But_ , it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life." Donna explained. "Thank you, Davros!"

"First time anyone's ever said that." I pointed out.

Donna nodded. "Got that right." She grinned at Rose. "Part human, part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind."

"I already had that bit!" I cheered. "I just got a few extra IQ points! I also think I got some more of Donna's humanity, and she probably got some of mine as well as sons other stuff. Let's not focus on the other stuff." I brushed those off, hoping no one would ask. I turned to the New Doctor. "I wonder what other sorts of stuff you got."

Sarah Jane came up. "So there's four of you?"

"Four Doctors?" Rose realized.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now." Jack commented.

Gosh, he reminded me so much of Darcy it hurt. Darcy would have not only told me what she was thinking, but how she planned on making that fantasy a reality.

Except, you know, excluding me from that. She was my twin sister. That's a whole other argument.

"You're so unique the timelines were converging on you. Human being with a Time Lord brain." The Doctor concluded.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan." Davros questioned the Dalek, facing him. "Why did you not foresee this?"

The Doctor looked up at the laughing Dalek. "Oh, I think he did. Something's been manipulating the timelines for ages, getting Donna Noble to the right place at the right time."

"This would always have happened. I only helped, Doctor." Caan explained.

"You betrayed the Daleks." Davros snapped.

"I saw the Daleks. What we have done, throughout time and space, I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed, no more!"

Oh. Now take as a girl who will quote things whenever she gets the chance, those were quotes. Not sure from who, could even have been a what, but I felt it in my gut that those were quotes.

Good quotes too.

"Heads up!" Jack warmed, aiming his gun at the Red Dalek.

Red Dalek lowered himself to the ground. "Davros, you have betrayed us."

Davros argued. "It was Dalek Caan."

The Red Dalek ignored this. The Doctor ran to the wire station. "The Vault will be purged. You will all be exterminated."

The Dalek blasted the wires just in front of the Doctor, sending him back. I ran up to him, making sure he got back up okay.

"Feel this!" Jack shouted, blasting the Dalek with his gun.

The Doctor went back to the machine. He put on his glasses. "Oh, we've lost the magnetron. And there's only one planet left. Oh, guess which one. But we can use the TARDIS." He ran to the blue box.

Now, here comes the tricky part. The part I had known I couldn't change no matter what we did. The part I knew I had to do, just like I did back in Pompeii.

The New Doctor twisted some knobs. "Holding Earth stability. Maintaining atmospheric shell."

"The prophecy must complete." Caan reminded.

Davros brushed it off, actually sounding the tiniest bit scared. "Don't listen to him."

Caan went on. "I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen, Doctor."

"He's right." The New Doctor explained. "Because with or without a Reality bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos." He stressed. "They've got to be stopped."

"Doc, just wait for the Doc." I asked, already knowing he was gonna say no.

He glared at me, almost enraged. "I am the Doctor." He argued. "Maximising Dalekanium power feeds. Blasting them back!" As he explained this, the New Doctor was twisted and pushed the various levers I had seen the New Doctor use when I watched it on TV.

The Crucible shook. The Daleks in the room started exploding. A few let out startled screams as they blew. I could hear the explosions of the smaller Dalek ships from outside.

"What have you done?"

I looked over to see the Doctor's angry face. "Fulfilling the prophecy." The New Doctor answered.

The Crucible shook again, starting to crumple.

"Do you know what you've done?" The Doctor yelled at himself. "Now get in the TARDIS! Everyone! All of you, inside! Run!"

The Doctor ushered us all towards the TARDIS. "In! In! In! In!" I waited by the doors to make sure everyone made it on board.

New Doctor was doing a head count inside. "Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Mickey!"

There was a large explosion in the vault. I looked at the other two living creatures inside. "Davros!" I called out to him.

The Doctor did too. "Davros? Come with me. I promise I can save you."

"Never forget, Doctor, you did this." Davis yelled. "I name you. Forever, you are the Destroyer of the Worlds!"

Then, a mountain of fire sprung up around Davros. He was gone.

"One will still die." Caan added.

The Doctor and I ran into the TARDIS. I took slower steps, choosing instead to lean on handrails as I watched them all pilot the TARDIS.

"And off we go!" The Doctor almost barked.

Sweet Merciful Storyline. Did that real just happen? I mean, I don't feel guilty at all about it. It was another one of those things that I can't change. A fixed point in the plot, I can't fight those things!

There was nothing I could do to stop Rose from becoming the Bad Wolf, because that meant killing the Tenth Doctor. I couldn't stop Rose from being lost at Torchwood, even though I fought tooth and nail on it for months.

I couldn't stop the death of the Human Daleks, even though I had used my own genetic code in place of the Doctor's. I couldn't stop the Master from dying, even though I made sure Lucy didn't have a gun. She ended up using one she had stolen days ago, hidden in her dress.

I couldn't stop Miss Foster from dying. I couldn't save Pompeii, but that one was a loss from the get go. It was me that pushed the button, blowing up Pompeii. The thing is, I would do it again. It doesn't even feel strange, or wrong, I just knew if I had a second chance I would do it again.

If it wasn't me that did it, it was the Doctor. I won't let him do that. He had already lost so much, more than I will ever understand. I never had people, a shared race that could teach me how to do this. Everything I knew, I had to learn. I learned that I can't change things too drastically, or the new events will be worse than the original ones.

Morgana was proof of that. I had tried to stop the whole thing, right from the get go, and ended up as the very thing I was trying to stop.

The Dalek ship had to explode, otherwise the Daleks would still be scattered across everywhere and everything. There still had to be this whole plan in the first place, so that the Doctor will notice Amelia has forgotten about Daleks. He had to notice that so he could truly realize the dangers of the time cracks.

Still haven't figured that whole thing out with those. Stupid Silence.

He has to understand the change of the cracks so he can find a way to reseal them. That way Amy can have her parents and Rory back, and River Song.

I took a calming breath, trying to slow my doubled heartsbeat. I heard the sounds of the TARDIS dematerializing. My hands gripped the handrails tightly.

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space." Sarah Jane pointed out.

The Doctor just typed on the computer screen. "I'm on it. Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?"

" _Loud and clear. Is Jack there?"_ Gwen asked.

"Can't get rid of him. Jack, what's her name?" The Doctor asked.

Jack smiled. "Gwen Cooper."

The Doctor nodded. "Tell me, Gwen Cooper, are you from an old Cardiff family?"

Gwen hesitated. _"Yes, all the way back to the eighteen hundreds."_

The Doctor grinned, him and Rose looking at each other and smiling. "Ah, thought so. Spatial genetic multiplicity."

"Oh, yeah." Rose laughed.

Ah, just another human I failed to save.

Well, couldn't save Gwyneth then there wouldn't be a rift that the TARDIS uses as a fuel stop which would make it impossible for Margaret to be turned into an egg using the heart of the TARDIS, which would stop Rose from finding out about the TARDIS heart. That would also stop Jack from finding us again in _Utopia_ , where he gets some much needed answers from the Doctor, and me.

I know. It's those little butterfly wings that people don't think much of. Or, you know, just forget to piece together.

"Yeah, it's a funny old world. Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that rift Manipulator. Send all the power to me." The Doctor explained to the Torchwood Team.

" _Doing it now, sir."_ Tosh said.

"What's that for?" Donna asked.

I walked a bit closer to the group, starting to feel better. This was all getting exciting. I was standing next to Donna now, happily looking at the screen showing off the people of Torchwood. I could still see Gwen, but behind her I saw Owen.

"It's a tow rope. Now then. Sarah, what was your son's name?" The Doctor asked.

Sarah Jane beamed. "Luke. He's called Luke. And the computer's called Mister Smith."

Ah, now I was thinking about Lilac. Stupid biscuit eating frog turd, that's a biggie. I would have to tell about today when I get back. That'll be fun.

"Calling Luke and Mister Smith. This is the Doctor. Come on, Luke. Shake a leg."

" _Is Mum there?"_ Luke asked. The young boy ran towards the computer screen, looking very worried.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, she's fine and dandy."

"Yes! Yes!" Sarah Jane cheered. Luke smiled.

"Now, Mister Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it around the TARDIS. You got that?" The Doctor said.

" _I regret I will need remote access to TARDIS base code numerals."_ Mr. Smith admitted.

The Doctor frowned. "Oh, blimey, that's going to take a while."

Sarah Jane cut through the large crowd. Rose stepped out of the way so the elder companion could have a go. "No, no, no. Let me. K9, out you come!"

" _Affirmative, Mistress."_

I couldn't help but smile. K9 was a pretty cool dog.

"Oh! Oh ho!" The Doctor cheered. "Oh, good dog! K9, give Mister Smith the base code."

" _Master. TARDIS base code now being transferred. The process is simple."_ Oh, that is so the Doctor's dog.

The Doctor guided Sarah Jane to a spot on the controls. "Now then, you lot. Sarah, hold that down." She did so. He pointed just in front of Mickey. "Mickey, you hold that." Mickey immediately moved to the correct knob. "Because you know why this TARDIS always is always rattling about the place? Rose?" He paused in his lecture. "That, there. It's designed to have six pilots, and I have to do it single handed." He stopped the lecture again. "Martha, keep that level. But not any more. Jack, there you go. Steady that. Now we can fly this thing." He stared at the Tyler. "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you. Don't touch anything. Just stand back." The Doctor said. "Like it's meant to be flown."

He looked over at me. I was smiling, happy. It was awesome! But, it was weird. The thing he did where he ran around the console trying to fly it was my favorite.

"We've got the Torchwood Rift looped around the TARDIS by Mister Smith, and we're going to fly Planet Earth back home." The Doctor said, after a brief pause. "Right then. Off we go."

I watched with joy as the others piloted the TARDIS. Donna and I, we supervised. I felt like a grown-up!

==DMLB==

I smiled a bit, seeing everyone happily congratulate each other. They were all laughing, and cheering.

Martha had come up to me, and gave me a big hug. After she hugged me, Jack had a go. It reminded me of hugging Pinkie Pie.

They eventually stopped hugging me, and I went back to watching over them. It always made me happy to see everyone else happy. To know that they had succeeded with or without me, and that I was being allowed to see it. It really brightens your mood.

Mickey had just walked out of the TARDIS, and I watched him go with a proud smile on my face.

"Terra?" A voice asked.

I looked up, seeing Rose standing in front of me. "Yessum?"

Rose smirked, nervously looking about before coming back to facing me. "This reminds me a lot about you. Standing off in the corner, just watching the rest of us run about."

I giggled. "Yeah. Corners are my natural habitat. It says that somewhere, I just know it." The two of us laughed.

Rose paused. "We thought you were dead." She almost whispered. "The Doctor and me. We were-"

"Doctor and I." I corrected her.

Rose frowned, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Now that's like the Terra I know." She went on with that. "We thought you were dead. I just, I thought I lost ya just after finding you. I never even got a chance to get to know your new self."

I shook my head. "Carolina Rose, you already know me. I'm Terra. I like the stars, the songs, and sitting in corners. What more about me do you need to know? Well, except maybe that I like sugar cookies. Seriously, I think I'm obsessed with those. It's almost unhealthy, but that might be because I put a lot of sugar in them."

Rose laughed. A sad laugh, that changed to happy. "Wow. I thought the Dkctor had a gob."

I rolled my eyes, walking towards the doors of the TARDIS. "Rose, don't even get me started."

I walked out the doors. I smiled at Mickey, who had just fist bumped the Doctor. "Don't think you can get away without saying goodbye to me."

Mickey grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it." The man went up to me, and hugged me. I hugged him back.

"Don't think you won't be seeing us again, Mickey the Idiot." I promised him.

He just laughed. "Oh, I know you'll be followin' me around, Terra the Creepy."

I laughed. As soon as it became obvious to him that I would never stop calling him that, he started calling me Terra the Creepy. When I owned up to it, it didn't hurt so bad. It felt really nice.

The hug ended, and I gave him one last proud smile. "Now, get going. Whole worlds been waiting on ya, Mickey."

Mickey nodded. "Yeah, see ya boss." He turned to the Doctor. "See ya Doctor." He began chasing off after Jack and Martha. "Oi! You two!"

"Thought I got rid of you." Jack commented.

I laughed. While laughing, I ended up facing the Doctor. He was giving me an almost sad look. "Ter-" He stopped suddenly, and looked behind me.

That was when I got nervous. He was starting to look a bit scared, then really angry. Like, super angry. Was I going to get yelled at now? Why was he about to yell at me? Why wasn't he looking at me?

I looked the direction he was looking, and my jaw dropped.

She was standing a couple away, leaning on one of the many trees. She was wearing a blood red long sleeved shirt, black jeans, and black boots. She had a black cloak on, covering most of her body from sight.

She had some friends behind her, practically standing ten feet away. A tall looking guy, but he was expertly hidden by his black cloak. A boy, a few inches shorter than her, also hidden by a cloak. Then a girl, completely cloakless. She was tall, but very young. She had dark brown hair in dreadlocks around her head, the same shade of brown as her skin, reminding me of Mels. She was wearing a pair of thick rimmed black glasses, so it couldn't be her. She was wearing a bright red jacket, a pale blue button up, black slacks, and black boots. She wasn't even trying to hide.

That first girl, neither was she.

"Darcy?" I said, starting to cry. She glared at me. "But...it...you can't..."

She ignored me, looking over towards the girl behind her. "Groot." She barked. The dark skinned woman rolled her eyes, but went down to a thing on her wrist. It was apparently a vortex manipulator.

"Darcy, talk to me!" I ordered, ignoring the strange name for that girl. "I'm sorry about what I did! Please just talk to me!"

"I thought her name was Gamora." The Doctor commented.

My jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh. Gamora? That name stinks!" I looked over at Darcy. She still wouldn't look at me. I knew only one more tactic that would get her to look my direction. "Witch!"

The girl stopped. She nearly turned around (twice) but fought the urge. It was working.

"Come on!" I shouted. "Witch!"

"Gah!" Darcy let out. It was like she holding back her argument.

"Witch. Witch. Witch." I started to chant. I just needed to hear her say it one last time.

My sister fought against it, strongly. I saw Groot glaring. "Gamora-" She growled.

"BITCH!" Darcy snapped, turning towards me with her purple eyes wide. "Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!" She was panting. "Bitch." She held up her hand, smiling wide. "There! Five for five!"

I smiled, giddy. She was looking at me, talking to me, joking with me. "I'm sorry." I began. "I'm so sorry. I should have known something was wrong so I could have fixed it."

Darcy's happy smile faded. She frowned, angrily, like her face when she tried pushing me off a volcano. "What? Because you have to fix everything? Because you, the all powerful Terra, have to be the universal repair girl? That saving others meant more than saving me?"

I flinched back. It was true. If I hadn't been so focused on the plot in _Child's Play 3_ , I would've saved Darcy. The job was put before my family.

"Yes. I did wrong. Saving you should always be my number one thing." I admitted. "It's something I'll regret to my grave."

"Good, cause that's just where I was gonna meet ya." Darcy snapped. I tilted my head. "Well, there's a pretty little grave out there with your name on it. Well, not really your name, closer to the name of a _doll_ , but close enough."

My eyes widened in sickening realization. Of course. Of course. Darcy was my sister, my twin sister. She didn't age like she was supposed to, she had memories of days she'd never lived. She had to be like me, too.

Her body was holding her in place, holding her together. Once that was out of the way she was given free reign. She's going everywhere she can just to make me hurt. Darcy Anderson can literally haunt me from beyond the grave.

Well, it's working. It really, really hurts.

She's going to the Graveyard. The Graveyard where she stabbed me, and shot me. The Graveyard where I shot her, killed her again. She was gonna die again.

"Darce, please don't." I pleaded. "Please. Just stop this fight! It'll end us both!"

"No." She argued. "It'll just end you."

Darcy didn't even look at me after that. She grabbed onto Groot, just as they all blinked away.

"You know Gamora?" The Doctor asked, coming up to my side.

I almost burst into tears. "Better than anyone."

"You were calling her Darcy." The Doctor pointed out.

"Because that's who she is." I said, still trying not to cry.

"And why were you apologizing?" The Doctor asked.

That sentence broke me. "Cause I killed her!" I yelled, snapping towards the Doctor. "Because I killed her and now she's dead! She's never...I'm never gonna see her again! Story, I killed her twice! Twice!" I cried into my hands.

I stopped myself. "No. No. I start crying, she'll show up and slap me. Criers get slapped." I reminded myself.

Saying it like a mantra, I walked off into the TARDIS. "Criers get slapped. Criers get slapped."

==DMLB==

"Oh, fat lot of good this is." Jackie complained.

I stepped completely out of the TARDIS, looking over the beach. It looks so much better than it did while I was a hologram.

"Back of beyond. Bloody Norway? I'm going to have to phone your father." Jackie shook her head. She turned to the New Doctor. "He's on the nursery run. I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy."

New Doctor grinned, delighted. "Oh, brilliant. What did you call him?"

Jackie gave him a thoughtful smile. "Doctor."

A pause. "Really?"

Jackie shook her head, almost laughing. "No, you plum. He's called Tony."

Rose took a good look around. "Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?"

"You're back home." The Doctor instructed.

Rose frowned at him.

"And the walls of the world are closing again, now that the Reality Bomb never happened." Donna explained. "It's dimensional retro closure. See, I really get that stuff now."

I smirked. Always nice when you actually understand what the Doctor says.

"No." Rose shook her head. She was so confused, she was already looking heartbroken. "But, I spent all that time trying to find you. I'm not going back now." She argued.

The Doctor walked closer towards Rose. "But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost." He looked up to the New Doctor. "And the cost is him. He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

The New Doctor frowned at us. "You made me.

"Exactly. You were born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge." The Doctor gave a ghost of a smile to Rose. "Remind you of someone? That's me, when we first met. And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

"But he's not you." Rose argued, her voice weak with tears.

The Doctor almost smiled again. "He needs you. That's very me."

"Don't you see what they're trying to give you?" The ginger woman asked. I glanced at her, and felt happy. Donna was happy. She turned to the New Doctor. "Tell her. Go on." She encouraged.

The New Doctor hesitated, nervously. Rose turned looked at him. "I look like him and I think like him. Same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" Rose nearly whispered.

"I'm part human. Specifically, the aging part." The New Doctor explained. "I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you, if you want." He shrugged, trying to act as if he wasn't offering to spend the rest of his life with the love of his life.

Rose had figured it out. "You'll grow old at the same time as me?"

"Together."

Rose sounded like she was about to start crying, when she suddenly turned towards me. "What about you?"

I tilted my head. It always surprised me when I got the spotlight like this. I considered it a challenge. "What do you mean?"

"But you..." Rose gulped, calming herself down. "It's not the same without you there, Terra. You're my best friend, and I'm never gonna see you again."

My smile vanished, replaced by a shocked frown. I walked up to Rose, wrapping my arms around her in a comforting hug. Rose immediately hugged me back. "Hey. I'm always there, Carolina Rose, always. Whether you like it or not, I am there. Seriously, I'm like a voice in your head that doesn't go away."

Then, there was a bright flash.

"Gah! Biscuits!"

The lot of us turned to the voice on our right.

There, on the beach, was a clone. A Three clone.

She was wearing different clothing, of course. Instead of a dress, it was a raspberry pink shirt that exposed her midriff. It had some see-through material as shoulder frills. It also had cool blue as a border on the top, and a white tank top underneath. She had long cool blue sleeves, too, in place of my white. She wore a cool blue skirt, that barely reached her knees, looking kinda like an upside-down rose.

She still had those pink boots of mine. Her bowtie was raspberry pink, which confused me a bit.

I let go of Rose, taking a small step towards the clone.

Terra shook her head. "Woah. That's a fun ride. I wonder how I survived though. Was not supposed to do that, I don't think." She stopped when she saw me. She smiled, widely. The clone started hopping in place, starting to squeal. "You! Terra! Hi! You totally just stopped me from melting, didn't you? I know you did! Don't you dare lie! I can tell! You got me out! Wow. This conversation sounds really familiar."

I raised a brow, then began to smile. Melting. A clone who was supposed to melt, but didn't. Only instances I can think when clones melt was one two part episode of Doctor Who. "Rose, I think I found a way for us to stay together."

Clone-Terra turned towards Rose, suddenly realizing where she was. She looked down, seeing a beach under her feet. She then noticed everyone else. Her smile dropped. "Bad Wolf Bay." She said, a boredom to her tone. It sounded so weird to hear Three as bored.

"Yep." I said, popping the p.

"Tenth Doctor." Clone-Terra went on.

"Yep."

"Meta crisis."

"Yep."

Clone-Terra looked at the blue suited Doctor. She ran up to him, in what I assumed would be a happy reunion.

 ***SLAP***

She slapped him. Hard. Okay. Less happy than I originally thought.

The New Doctor lifted a hand to his cheek, rubbing it. "Two words." Clone-Terra said. "Two words. They will make you regret everything you ever said to Terra. Everything you ever did to Terra."

She pushed herself up, whispering in the Doctor's ear.

He seemed a bit in shock, but still listened to her words. I couldn't make them out over the wind and the ocean. Biscuits.

The New Doctor suddenly dropped his jaw, taking a step away from Clone Terra (who I am now going to refer to as just Terra). The New Doctor looked down at Terra, who nodded, then looked to me.

I just smiled, waving my hand. "Hello!"

The Doctor's mouth tried to bring words out, but it wasn't working.

"Dang. What words could you say that broke him?" I asked Terra. "I might need those!"

Terra looked back to the Doctor. "She doesn't know." She said. She gave me an almost sad look. "Not for a long time."

"Oh you big bully!" I teased, although I was actually a tinsy winsy bit angry.

Future Me can't lie, but that doesn't mean she has to tell me everything. She can be as vague as she wants, as cryptic as a prophecy, but she can never tell me the whole of it. Then they'll be nothing I can stop.

Terra nodded. "Permission?"

I nodded, holding out my arms. "Granted." Terra immediately ran up to me, and held me tight. Good Storyline, she was good at giving hugs. "You are really good at giving hugs." I whispered.

Terra hugged me a little tighter. "I had a lot of practice." She let out a giddy sigh. "Our pretty boy."

Wow. That was a little too much info, Future Me. "That...that pretty boy? The one River told us about?"

Terra giggled, like a schoolgirl with a crush. "So pretty..."

My jaw dropped. I backed away from the hug. "So that wasn't some practical joke?!" I asked.

Terra stopped smiling. She was giving me a 'I know, right?' look. "I know!"

"But it would've been a really funny joke!" I pointed out.

"I'm still waiting for the punchline!" Terra admitted.

I started shaking my head in surprise. She was from Rebel Flesh, about a century in the Doctor's future if I'm right. That long, and still waiting for a heartbreak. "This news is gonna take a while to process." I took a breath, steeling myself for the question I had been dying to ask. "Darcy was there." I finally said.

Terra sighed, hugging me to the point of bruises. "She's from the Past. You know that. She went to that graveyard and died."

I frowned. Of course. Why would it be anything else? "Right. Of course." I sucked in the tears. "Screw me for having hope, right?"

Terra ended the hug, giving me a look of withheld pity. I hate that look. I really, really do. It's the kinda look that says _'you haven't seen anything yet'_.

The TARDIS warning bell went off.

"We've got to go. This reality is sealing itself off for ever." The Doctor said.

Terra grinned, skipping over to Rose and the New Doctor. "I'll keep an eye on these two strays for you!" She cheered.

I stayed in my spot, waiting for a part that I loved about this episode.

Rose frowned at us. She ran up to us. "But, it's still not right, because the Doctor's still you."

"And I'm him." The Doctor gave the New Doctor a glance.

"All right. Both of you, answer me this." Rose ordered. She looked back and forth from the two of them. They walked up to her. "When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?" Nothing. "Go on, say it."

"I said, Rose Tyler." The Doctor said.

Rose motioned for him to go. "Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?"

The Doctor tried to remain impassive. I could see it on his face, he was struggling. "Does it need saying?" He finally decided.

Rose turned to the New Doctor. "And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"

The New Doctor took Rose's arm, pulling her close to him. Before she could argue, he kissed her.

I waved Terra goodbye. She gave me a wave back. I went to the TARDIS, happy to know Rose had her Doctor.

==DMLB==

Once the TARDIS was in transit, Donna cheerfully went up to the computer screen. She seemed to be in thought, looking at the circles on the screen.

The Doctor looked over at me, regret ready in his eyes. I couldn't tell what it was of, exactly. The deep regret of having gotten Rose back only to lose her to (ironically) himself, and knowing she would have the rest of her life without him stung worse than I could ever understand. It hurt him a lot, it'll hurt til the day he died. Hell, he saw Hologram Rose and thought about the guilt.

Then there was the guilt over what was happening to Donna. I could see it in his eyes as soon as he saw the New Doctor. He had thought Donna dead already, then even more so after Davros shot her. The Doctor knew either her mind would burn end and she would die, or he would have to kill the Don a we had accepted into our hearts.

It just had to work. I apparently succeeded in my future plan of sending Clone Terra back here for Rose. I could never stand to see her hurt. The Bad Wolf, the Defender of the Earth, my Carolina Rose.

Now here was Donna Noble. She was fierce when she wanted to be (all the time), yet she was still able to be knocked down. She couldn't stand to hear to the sad song of the stuck Ood, or that family in Pompeii dying, and she figured out the numbers from the Messaline. She always chose a human option. That human instinct. The best of humanity, that's what she was.

At least, that's what she was to me. Gonna be honest, Donna became my favorite right when she entered the TARDIS. All that lip was exactly the pick me up I needed after Torchwood. The Doctor had time heal his wounds, nearly three years worth. I had Donna's jokes and then a regeneration I filled with as much hope as I could muster up.

She wouldn't die. Even if I have to give up a regeneration or five, Donna Noble will not go back to thinking herself as worthless.

"I thought we could try the planet Felspoon. Just because." The ginger woman grinned. It was the 'Doctor's Going On A Tangent' grin. "What a good name, Felspoon. Apparently, it's got mountains that sway in the breeze." Donna walked towards us, gaping at the thought of moving mountains. "Mountains that move. Can you imagine?" She twisted a dial on the console.

Oh Storyline. What if she knew? What if she knew what was going to happen and just thought escaped it? That something had made it better? If she knew about the Metacrisis thing, then she knew it would kill her sooner or later.

No. I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think these depressing thoughts. Donna was gonna be fine. Fantastic. Terrific. Molto bene.

Oh. Huzzah doesn't fit that sequence. Biscuits. Does that mean I need to find a new word?

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked.

"Because it's in your head." Donna explained, like it was as plain as the mole on his back. "And if it's in your head, it's in mine."

The Doctor was staring at her, waiting for any sort of warning signs. I couldn't look away, praying to everything that they would never come. "And how does that feel?" The Doctor asked her.

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene! Great big universe, packed into my brain." Donna took a breath, turning to us.

I straightened myself. This was it. Big moment. Either made it, or broke her.

"You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just tried hot binding the fragment links and superseding the binary-" She suddenly stopped.

I paused, watching and waiting for Donna to say more. She had already missed the repeating binary thing, which made me cheer.

That has to mean something good, right? Right?

Donna shrugged it off. "Nah. Now that I think about it, I like the box. I can see why you don't change it."

I let out a breath. She was fine. It worked. It worked! It actually, actually worked! Woohoo!

"Donna, are you feeling alright?" The Doctor asked, walking towards our friend.

"I'm better than fine." Donna cheered. "I'm terrific."

I giggled. That was what Terra Two used to say.

"No, but, you know what happens with a biological Metacrisis." The Doctor clarified, still worried for his friend.

Donna nodded, running about the console. "I know. There can't be one, because it would burn out the human's mind. It can't contain that knowledge." Donna walked around the console again straight to the computer screen. "And that's the thing. I knew that was coming pretty soon after it all clicked together. So, I started searching in my head for things that would go wrong." She paused, one hand gripped on the handbrake and and other pointing at us. "You wanna know what I found? As I looked through my head, this sorta, gold light came over the synapses. It's acted like a blanket, smothering out the burn."

I let out a loud squeal, excitedly running up to Donna. "You're gonna be okay! Huzzah!"

She hugged me back. "I'm gonna be fine."

I hugged her extra tight, soon feeling the Doctor join in. This was good, this was very, very good.

Oh, yeah, it totally screws up a lot of stuff in the future. I didn't care. I like challenges. Donna is gonna go nuts seeing Jackson Lake, aka the Next Doctor. I wonder how she would react to Rosita? I can't wait to see her on the Planet of the Dead! She may even help me on _Waters of Mars_ , and stop the Doctor from what he ends up doing.

Sweet Merciful Storyline. She might meet Amelia Pond. Oh, that is gonna be a disaster.

I can't wait for it!

The hug cut off. Donna flinched back, letting out a pained gasp. Her hand reached up to her throat, the other went towards her stomach. She started coughing again.

"D-Donna?" I asked. No. No, it would not fall apart. It can't work and then just not work.

The woman gave another great big cough. It was closer to a dry heave, if I thought about it. She gasped for air.

I tried to rush to her side. The Doctor held my arm, keeping me from checking on her.

"I think it's start-"

"No." I growled, not willing to lose hope. It did not happen. It would not happen! "No. That's not what it is. The Metacrisis would burn her mind, that's not what's wrong!"

Then, I felt it myself. I was able to hold back the reactions, since I had felt them before. It felt like someone had just kicked me in the stomach, knocking air from my lungs. I had only felt this once before...one horrible, horrible never ending night...

Oh Sweet Merciful Storyline, no. No she was not. She couldn't be.

"Donna?" I nearly squeaked.

That was when she collapsed to the ground.

"Donna!" I screamed, running to my fallen friend.

I sat myself on my knees, placing my hands on the sides of her head. She was still coughing, but she was starting to shake like she was going into shock.

"Terra, no, you shouldn't." The Doctor said, trying to pry me away.

"I'm not going to suppress that!" I shouted at him. "I touched the hand too!" I said, trying to hold onto the shaking Donna. "She got stuff from me! _So we need to get her to Wilf's house now!_ " I screamed at him, turning myself so I was looking him in the eye.

The Doctor gave Donna a hesitant look. He relented, running up to the control screen to type in the coordinates.

I went back to the shaking Donna. My fingertips reached to her temple. "Shh." I placed a small sleep spell on her. The ginger stopped shaking, relaxing on the ground.

That should do for now, at least until we could get her home and in bed.

"You're sure that'll work?" The Doctor asked. He was still pulling the necessary switches, giving worried glances to the sleeping Donna.

I gave him a sad look. "If you don't give them what they want, they'll just get worse." I admitted. "She isn't used to them, so they had a harder impact. They want things to go a certain way, and will do whatever it takes to make it so."

The Doctor frowned at me, still looking panicked. "Are you sure?"

"I've been in her shoes. I know the these things go." I almost started crying, but held back. I looked back down to Donna. She was still asleep, but her face was grimaced in pain. "I'm sorry, Donna, I really am."

The TARDIS started to whoosh, making me smile. That noise always gave me hope.

==DMLB==

After we arrived at the Noble house, Donna had been placed up in her room. Wilf had panicked, Sylvia nearly screamed at us. Once they heard Donna needed some quiet they silenced themselves.

The Doctor and I laid her on her bed. I took off her jacket, playing it over a chair in her room. It took us a few minutes to get the courage to leave the room, still worried about her wellbeing.

The sick feeling in my stomach had stopped. They had to have stopped for Donna too because she looked peaceful. Time was moving as normal. Us without Donna.

I felt guilty. So very, very guilty. I was one word away from apologizing a million billion times to the Doctor. This was my fault. It was supposed to make her better, not worse. She shouldn't have gotten that much from me. At most I thought she would see the bad stuff I did.

Now, I had taken the Doctor's best friend from him. It only seemed fair. I had lost my best friend, even had her come up from the past to run in my face what failure I was. Then Future Me showed up, basically out of nowhere.

She said just two words the Metacrisis, just two. It was to make him feel sorry for things he had down to us, but, I can't think of anything he would need to be sorry for. Each time something close to bad happened to me, I explained to him later that it was me that put myself in the spotlight. Most of the bad things were Planned, deliberate, so as not to let them happen to the others.

What two words could make him do that?

The only thing that did help was that Future Me told me I would get a boyfriend, which was nice. Kinda sad, though, since she still felt he would abandon her.

Storyline, I had abandonment issues. It makes feel sorry for her, also, because in a way she was abandoning him. That was gonna be a rough time, over in Pete's World.

I hate Plan B.

"She took my mind into her own head." The Doctor explained to Donna's family. "But that's a Time Lord consciousness. All that knowledge, it was killing her."

"But she'll get better now?" Wilf asked, with hope in his eyes.

"Yes." I smiled at Wilf. "It'll take a long time, but she will." I couldn't stop smiling. It had worked! "I used a portion of my own soul to push out the Doctor's mind." Then, I frowned. "Only problem with that is my soul gets instincts. We don't know how. Once my soul went into Donna, it gave a portion of those instincts to her. They were making her sick. She can't ever come to the TARDIS again, until the instinct says so."

Wilf lost that spark of hope. "All those wonderful things she did."

The Doctor nodded, just as sad as the rest of us. Donna was basically cursed to never leave the Earth again. "I know. But that version of Donna is gone. Because if she steps foot on the TARDIS, even for just a second, she'll burn up."

Sylvia gaped at us. "But she loves travelling with you both."

"And we loved travelling with her." The Doctor gave me a thankful look. "If Terra didn't do what she did, then I would've had to suppress the Time Lord consciousness in her mind." He shook his head. "And that would've meant hiding all her memories of us. She would have never remembered us."

"But she was better with you." Wilf said suddenly.

"Don't say that." Sylvia half scolded.

Wilf turned to his daughter. "No, she was."

"She's better than we ever could be." I told Wilf. "Donna's human. She, in my honest opinion, was the best example of humanity I had ever seen. That humanity saved worlds, far in the past and far in the future."

The Doctor added on to that. "There are people living in the light, and singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light years away. They will never forget her. And for one moment, one shining moment, she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe."

"She still is." Sylvia snapped, like the momma bear she was. Like the momma bear they always are. "She's my daughter."

I couldn't help but snap. "Then maybe you should tell her that once in a while." I growled.

The door to the living room swing open. The fiery haired ginger walked in, glaring at the Doctor and I. A part of me cowered, the other part wanted to cry.

Donna sounded like Donna, none of that crazy Doctor mumbo jumbo in her voice. "I was asleep on my bed in my clothes, like a flipping kid!" She shouted. "What do you let me do that for?"

I nervously shifted in my seat. "Neither of us wanted to take off your clothes." I admitted to her.

Donna frowned at me. "Oh, hush. You know what I mean!"

"You don't like being put in your nice soft bed?" I asked, tilting my head with Three's childlike curiosity. "Did you wanna be on a couch?"

Donna motioned with her head towards the kitchen. "We need to talk."

I frowned. Those are the four words nobody wants to hear. "Yes ma'am." I lowered my head, walking into the kitchen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Doctor move to get up with me. "Doc, this is a talk Donna and I need to have alone."

With heavy hearts, I walked into the kitchen.

==DMLB==

Donna frowned at me. There was this look in her eyes, one I saw earlier. She was still very confident, more sure of herself. She still seemed a bit ticked off, but it was fading.

"I woke up in bed in my clothes." Donna said.

"We were worried you were hurt." I explained, pulling on my sleeves. A nervous habit Three picked up. It was messing up my sleeve, and I might have to replace it if I keep this up.

The dress was actually really fun to make! I remember dashing about a fabrics shop, grabbing any fabric that intrigued me. The boots were more for fun.

"At first I was like, how did I get here?" Donna made a mock look of thought. Where was this going, I wondered. "Then I remembered. I was getting that sickness, the one where you changed too much of the original story. Last time it happened to you, you saved that operator in Barrow."

"They were gonna put his head on a stick, what else could I do?" I asked, a bit hurt.

Something about that made me confused. So I tried to save his life, the sickness came, then _She_ came, and then he died. What was so wrong about that?

"So, while I was close to the same thing." Donna went on. "You put one of those sleeping spells on me. Who taught you to do those?"

"The Princess of the Night, obviously." I answered, adding a shrug. "Lilac kept having nightmares so I ask if there was a spell for dreamless sleep. I only use it on her if she already had a bad dream, not that I am letting her have them I just want the chance for a good dream to-" My eyes widened when I realized what I was doing.

Donna was giving me a smug smile. "Whatever's in your head, it's in mine too."

My jaw dropped. She knew, she knew about me. Holy crab apple trees. "Don't know why I'm surprised."

My friend nodded. "That's easy. You thought your abilities would repress the DoctorDonnaTerra, which it did. You just forgot that since it was covering up so much meant I could see that much more of them."

I winced. That was a good point.

"Am I ever coming back?" Donna asked. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll ever be let back onto the TARDIS." I said. "I'm sorry I can't do more."

"No." Donna said in a warning tone. She pointed her finger at me angrily. "I know what would've happened if you didn't step in. The Doctor would've had to kill me, and that would kill him." She walked up to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "And I know you did it all on purpose. You stayed behind in the TARDIS not because you heard the heartbeat, it was because you saw it."

I nodded, feeling like I was gonna start crying. I tried to fix her, and I ended up giving her my curse. That's what it was. That's what it had to be. A curse, not a gift, it got my sister killed, my nearly killed my daughter, and put my friends in danger. Who could consider it a gift after that? The worst part is...I don't think I can stop. I never could, I never can. I hate constantly having to lie, to have to hide who I really am from people, but I can't stop.

Cause though it may put my friends in danger, it also saves their lives.

Donna still had to give me what for. "You did a lot of good today. Like what you did on Bad Wolf Bay. You gave Rose a you clone, so she wouldn't be without in that other world. You did it so Rose wouldn't be completely alone, 'cause whenever she and the Doctor would fight or anything like that she had you." The woman held my shoulders, squeezing them tight. "You did it, your Plan worked today, don't let just one little thing get you worked up."

"You are not _just one little thing_." I snapped, nearly glaring at her. "Ever. Never say that, Donna. You're the most important woman in the universe, never think anything less."

Donna squeezed tighter on my shoulders. "And you, are not a freak. You're the bravest, and most compassionate person in the universe." She gave me a kind smile. "And never think anything less."

I couldn't fight the tear filled laugh that came after she said that. Nor could I stop myself from hugging her.

==DMLB==

It was raining. My mind instantly blamed the Pegasus, making it rain after a sad day. That now I had to help Lilac put on a raincoat, and that her after school Crusader meeting was cancelled. She always got so disappointed when it rained like this, painting sad water colors the rest of the day.

Then I remembered this wasn't Equestria. I was with the Doctor. Rose was gone, Jack was gone, Mickey was gone, Sarah Jane was gone, Martha was gone, and now Donna was gone.

"Ah. You'll have quite a bit of this." The Doctor looked up at the rain clouds. Wilf and Donna did too. "Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass. Everything does."

I turned to the grandfather, giving him a hug. "I hope we see you soon, Donna."

Donna looked upset, but was hiding it. She was good at that. "I was going to be with you forever."

"We know."

"The rest of my life, travelling in the TARDIS." Donna said, wistfully. "The Doctor Donna Terra."

"And we are eternal grateful that you are alright." I said. "Today could have ended so much worse."

The ginger woman nodded, giving a short wave. "I'll be seeing you, spaceman, spacegirl."

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded.

The two of us watched as Donna walked into her house, probably the last time we would see her before Christmas.

"Bye then Wilf." The Doctor said, shaking Wilf's hand. He walked out into the rain. I patted Wilf on the shoulder, joining him in the rain.

It felt really nice. _God was in the rain..._

"Oh, Doctor? Terra?" Wilf called out to us. "What about you now? Who've you got? I mean, all those friends of yours."

"They've all got someone else." The Doctor brushed off.

"Still, that's fine." I said, trying to hurry this up. "We're fine."

Wilf didn't believe that. "I'll watch out for you, sir, miss."

"She can't ever come back." The Doctor said sternly.

"No, no, no." Wilf shook his head. "But every night, Doctor, when it gets dark, and the stars come out, I'll look up on her behalf. I'll look up at the sky, and think of you."

Dang it. That always made me want to cry.

"Thank you." The Doctor said.

"That means a lot to us." I told Wilf.

With that, we walked off into the TARDIS.

He sent her off into flight, and I frowned.

"What do you think her words were?" I asked the Doctor, referring to Future Me. The Time Lore seemed confused at that. "On Bad Wolf Bay, Future Me said two words and you turned into a goldfish. What do you think her words were?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know." He started pulling switches on the console.

The TARDIS started up, sending us off. The Doctor took off his coat, letting it fall to the ground. It was a rare oddity to see him without a pinstripe jacket. I pulled down the handbrake, letting the noise fill up the console room. He looked at me curiously.

"I got stuff from it all too, Doc." I reminded him. "Apparently flying the TARDIS is one of those things. Some of Donna's confidence is in there too. That'll hit me hard one of these days."

The Doctor nodded, a sad smile on his face. "I really thought she was gone."

"Hey, it's okie dokie." I walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "She's Donna Noble. Chances are, even it it did burn her brain, she would've found a way back just to confuse us."

The Doctor, despite his grief, laughed. "Then she'd have smacked us."

I winced, giggling. "Oh! She would've hit us so hard our next regeneration would've felt it!"

"We might _have_ regenerated." The Doctor teased.

I laughed. We laughed for awhile. Not so much at the jokes, but as a way to relieve stress. So much had happened today, for him, for us, and it was still sending me reeling. Rose had come back, Earth was part of some mega death cannon, there was a system of nuclear bombs under planet Earth, the Daleks were gone for now, and Donna couldn't be a companion anymore.

Then, Rose got together with her Metacrisis, a clone of me came here, Jackie had a baby named Tony, and I could fly the TARDIS.

For what seemed like an eternity, we just sat in silence. Things without other people just drove me mad. If it was just me and him, then I couldn't take it. We needed people. Who could I get, though? We would only have them until _End of Time_ , when he regenerated. They couldn't be girls, that never went well. They had to be smart, with at least some knowledge on this...

Idea!

"Hey, Doc?" I spoke up.

He looked up at me. "Yes?"

"I..." How do I even approach this subject? What could I say? "I have some...uh...well, some friends." I dragged off, thinking carefully on my wording.

"Really?" The Doctor asked, actually sounding surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah, and, after all that, I want to let them know I'm...okay. Would...would you like to see them?"

The Doctor looked a bit surprised at the news, and a little nervous. "Sure. Yeah. Be nice to finally see your friends."

It took me a second to realize he had said yes. I clapped my hands together excitedly, splashing some of the rain water around the TARDIS. Oops.

Sorry Sexy.

I went up to the computer console, seeing our coordinates were set to random. With a few quick buttons and setting changes, we were on course for the backyard behind 'my' house. I ran about the console, pulling down the levers and turning the knobs. The handbrake came last.

"Terra?" The Doctor came up beside me, pulling another lever.

"Yeah?" I turned to him.

He was starting to look giddy. "I don't think flying the TARDIS was all you got from me."

I tilted my head. "Well, what else could I get? I already have a marvelous sense of humor."

The Doctor swung the computer around so I could read it. "What does that say?"

I looked at the screen, then him. I shrugged. "It says that we're heading towards the United States, South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, 2008, Sol Three, Sector 8023 of the Third Quadrant. Sounds a bit too much like Buzz Lightyear-"

"Terra, don't you understand what that means?" The Doctor asked.

I half glared at him. "Oi! I understand what it means! Earth belongs to some weird universal thing and that's awesome. The other eight thousand quadrants are probably interesting-"

"It's written in Gallifreyan." The Doctor explained. "You can read Gallifreyan now."

I blinked at him, looking between him and the screen. He was right. This was what I got from him. "Oh my Story."

"Isn't that brilliant?"

"I got your obliviousness!" I groaned, face palming. "I'm doomed!"

The Doctor gave me a playful shove.


	45. Meeting in the Forest

The Everfree wasn't a scary place to be. It was unsettling, yes, but not scary. Of some pony could live here, then it can't be that bad right?

The three of us were walking away from the mirror pool. Big Mac helped get the giant rock, Twilight lifted it onto the hole, and I guided them there. It was surprisingly easy and I thank my Story that the Crusaders hadn't found it first.

Pinkie Pie had tried getting me to make one. She had thought about it a lot after the wedding, and said it would be great to have a pony help me. I was barely able to tell her I had that pony once, and I lost her.

This made Pinkie drag me down to the Mirror Pool. I remember that moment vividly.

 _==DMLB==_

" _Pinkie, I don't want a double." I explained, staring warily at her double._

 _The pony bounced excitedly. "Come on, Raspberry! It'll be fun!" The double cheered._

 _I shook my head. "No. Please Pinkie, respect my decision. If I wanted a double again, I would go out and get one, but I can't."_

 _Pinkie tilted her head. "Again?" She asked, looking confused._

 _My eyes widened. "I don't want a double." I repeated. "So can I please just go now?"_

 _Pinkie lowered her excited hooves to the ground. She was starting to frown. "What did you mean 'again'?"_

" _Fun!" The double shouted._

 _Then, I noticed the double's double._

 _==DMLB==_

Raspberry.2 was thankfully avoided. Once Pinkie's clones became a stampede, I used every profiler tool I had developed to find the real one. After that I made sure to stay close to her.

Twilight had actually given me the benefit of the doubt. I told her Pinkie had used the Mirror Pool, and then all of her clones followed. She had the solution, and wanted the Real Pinkie.

It was at this point I realized that I was so busy talking to Twilight that I wasn't paying attention to Pinkie.

The Paint Drying Test went off without a-

My ear flicked back, hearing an unnatural noise off in the woods.

"Hold it." I said, my ears rotating towards the sound.

"What is it Raspberry?" Twilight asked me.

I gave the unicorn a brief glance. The noise was long gone, but whatever caused it was still around. "Probably nothing. I just need to go check something out."

"Are you sure? It's not really safe out here." Twilight asked.

I turned to the unicorn, smirking. "I know. I like it too." I chuckled. "But seriously, I'll be fine."

Twilight seemed hesitant. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, in that case."

I waved. "See ya later Sparkle of Twilight."

So I followed the sound, unaware of what I was chasing. It was just too difficult to say no.

I was chasing it for what felt like ten minutes, ending up in the clearing where I first arrived in Equestria. Whatever I was chasing had vanished, and that annoyed me.

Panting from all the running, I started looking around the clearing. Maybe it was in hiding. "Hello?" I called out.

There was some rustling behind me. I moved towards it, but saw only shaking leaves.

"Where are you?" I asked. "It has to be nearby."

More rustling, this time in the direction of my house. I stared at the trees, hoping for the slightest hint as to what I was following. I love mysteries.

"One two, Freddy's coming for you." I couldn't help but sing. "Three four, better lock the door."

"Hello, Raspberry Stardust." A new voice spoke.

My back turned towards the voice, it was strangely familiar. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Only your worst enemy." The voice hissed.

My shoulder shrugged. "Sorry, got ten of those. Be more specific?" The voice growled. "What? It's not easy being me."

"Oh, we know." A new voice said, sounding male.

"We?" I pointed out.

"Yes, we." The first voice admitted, though begrudged.

There was a crunching sound behind me. I snapped towards it.

"Hehehe." The male voice laughed from across the clearing.

I could barely make out one of the figures. It came further and further out from the shadows, until I could finally see who she was.

"Chrysalis?"

The changeling queen grinned darkly at me. I took a cautionary step backwards.

"Yes. Hello Raspberry Stardust." The Changeling Queen bragged. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

I shrugged, feeling a little unprepared. "Just a couple of months. Nothing too long."

The changeling laughed. It was really creepy. "Yes. Just a few months since you destroyed my plans." She hissed.

"Not my fault you made them so easy to destroy." I said. Chrysalis hissed in my direction. "What? It's true."

"You just can't get good minions these days." The male voice commented.

"I know, right? Mine's okay, still working out the kinks." I joked, thinking of Caroline. "But she's catching on."

"Isn't it nice having someone to brag at?" The stallion asked. "Someone to show the tricks of the trade?"

I laughed. "It's the best."

"Could you cease with your flirting?" Chrysalis snapped, looking towards the forest.

"That's not flirting, that's talking." I explained. "Flirting is something completely different. I thought you could tell the difference."

She growled.

I rolled my eyes. "Who's your friend?" I asked, carefully looking through the forest edges. "You sound new."

He chuckled.

There was a whooshing noise. I snapped towards it, seeing only the rustling leaves and branches. Soon, they stilled. It was like he had never even been there. It was kinda ticking me off, but I kept trying to find even the smallest trace of this guy.

He had to have a nature shaded coat, something dark brown or dark green, if he wanted to blend in with the trees. Then again, I could change my coat color with a simple Glamour spell. His name was the same story, though probably darker.

There was a whoosh on my right. I jumped, turning at it. He was gone again.

"Oh, I'm actually the opposite." The stallion spoke. His voice seemed to be everywhere at once, making him hard to place.

Story, I needed a real challenge! This guy was fun! Dangerous, but fun!

I raised a brow, still trying to catch even a glimpse. "How so?"

"I thought you knew everything." He mocked.

That really got my attention. Most would say that in the form of a question. His was a statement. This guy has to know my Rules.

Okay. A bit more of a challenge. I'm game. "Well, I learned to ask the right questions."

The stallion laughed.

"Enough of this!" Chrysalis yelled.

I turned to the Queen. She was way beyond annoyed, and was turning towards rage. Fire burned in her eyes, and I knew I was on a fine line. The Queen marched towards me, and kept herself locked on.

So I let her approach me. I was actually curious to see what she would do. Some might call it having a death wish. She was clearly the sub in this arrangement. She was being partly held back by this stallion, clearly he had promised her revenge at me if she followed his idea.

I smirked at the Queen. She wasn't even a challenge anymore. I wonder why I was so afraid that my Plan would fail. Chrysalis was barely an apprentice. I was a Master at this.

The Queen took my smirk as an insult. She hissed at me. Her forked tongue came out from her pointed teeth.

"Oh?" I asked, teasingly. "Is it?"

The Queen growled.

"Heel." The stallion taunted.

"No!" Chrysalis snarled. She looked towards the forest for a second, and then went back to glaring daggers at me. "This needs to end tonight! She will pay for what she has done to the Changeling Race!"

"Will I?" I taunted. "Do you take debit?"

Chrysalis just growled in annoyance. "Quit it with your useless taunts!"

I kept my smirk up. This would get her riled up. She would make a mistake, and it would bring out her partner. "I happen to think my smirks are far from useless. Unlike you."

The Queen growled.

"Chrysalis. Stand down." The stallion ordered. "Do I have to remind you of who is in charge?"

That actually got a response from the Queen. She backed away from me, but kept glaring. She was barely able to hold back her rage.

I grinned, looking out at the Forest. He would have to show up at some point. "Oh. I love when ponies have trump cards. What do you have on the Queen of the Bad Actors?"

Chrysalis hissed.

"More than you." The stallion bragged.

"Oh." I said. "Wow."

"I've gotten better at insults since our first date." He explained.

Okay. That got my attention. "I haven't met you before tonight."

He laughed. More like in amusement than mocking. "Oh? Such a shame. I thought we had gotten so close."

I raised a wary brow. Now this guy was creeping me out. "Who are you?"

Finally, I heard some tree branches move behind me. Turning to see my opponent, I thought over how much I was right.

The stallion looked close to my age, give or take a year or two. He wasn't necessarily athletic, but I could see the makings of some muscle. He could probably take me down if he tried. His strength could also be influenced by the fact he was an earth pony.

His coat was a dark brown. It was kinda like a dark chocolate chip. He had a black mane. The mane was well brushed, and short. It was cut so it couldn't reach his black eyes.

I couldn't see a cutiemark. He was standing too straight for me to see it.

The stallion grinned at me. "You've known me all your life."

I thought it over. This could be someone from Raspberry's past. Yet, I knew he wasn't. It was a possibility, I'll admit it. He just came off as the guy who knew me. I mean, _me_. "Never met you before today."

The stallion trotted two steps closer. There was still a good fifteen feet between us, but he kinda had this air like he could be by my side in a second.

"You wouldn't recognize me, anyway." The stallion admitted. "Not in this form."

Oh, yes. Finally something I could work with. "This form? What are you, a changeling?"

He shook his head. "No."

Not a changeling, but could his change his form? What else in Equestria could do that? You know, except-

Except me.

My eyes widened. I took a cautionary step back. I looked the stallion over again. He couldn't be...could he? It doesn't make sense! I...I had to be the only one. What else would explain me never meeting another person like me?

The stallion laughed, darkly. "She's finally figured it out!"

My mouth opened, and I tried to get words to come out. Nothing worked. They were just stuck.

"You..." I was able to get out.

The stallion looked at the Queen. "See? Told you. Speechless."

I shook my head. "You can't. You can't be like me."

He came closer. "Why not? What do you really know about your own kind?"

I tried again to speak, but they were stuck again. He can't be a Jumper. He can't be. I was the only one. Nobody else around me was. Not my family, not my friends, not even my own daughter wasn't one.

The stallion kept grinning, like he had won. Like he was telling the truth.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

The stallion walked closer. I could finally see the whites of his eyes, and the darkness in his black eyes. It was worse than I thought.

It was the same darkness I see in Morgana.

"My name is Garfield Logan." The earth pony said. "And you ruined my life."

There was a bright flash, and I saw darkness.


	46. Sequel

Hey everyone, this story hasn't died! Go to The Day My Life Continued to watch more of Morgan and her friends!


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